


Blind Courage

by shinobipopcorn



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms
Genre: Attempted Murder, Babies, Blind Character, Bureaucracy, Childbirth, Discussion of Abortion, F/M, Faked Death, Family Fluff, No Smut, Poisoning, Referenced Past Lives, Revenge, Teenage Pregnancy, Unplanned Pregnancy, hardship, mute character, single mother, zelgan baby
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-02
Updated: 2016-05-28
Packaged: 2018-04-12 00:40:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 38
Words: 44,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4458719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shinobipopcorn/pseuds/shinobipopcorn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A proud king, making the cause for peace, granted the love of his life then blamed for her murder. A young princess, granted the gift of motherhood, then poisoned, stripped of her title, and forced to live in secret for her and her child's safety. A blind little girl living in hiding in the forest, abducted by monsters but saved by a gentle passerby. A young family, reunited...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part One: Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I got the idea for this fic as I was trying to fall back asleep after waking up in the middle of the night. I wanted a story where Ganondorf is actually allowed to keep his relationship with Zelda, and that made me think. Why is it always Ganondorf who goes against his grain? Can't Zelda leave Hyrule behind for once?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My apologies to everyone who has been waiting for updates on my other works. I am still working on them, this one just kind of took over. When I get some time off, I will try and update what I can. :)

The Hylian empire and the Gerudo kingdom were at odds, ever since Hyrule gained its name. Gerudo legends told of a time when the two races were one, yet Hylian lore insisted the land was settled by and belonged to the royal family.

In the beginning, the two were content to ignore each other. The Gerudo territory became its own province, and the Hylians kept to Faron, Eldin, and Lanayru provinces. But as the years went by, the natural resources in the Gerudo territory dwindled. Before long, the harvests could no longer sustain the residents, and the Gerudo king had no choice but to ask the Hylians for help.

The Hylian king offered help, in return for access to the Gerudo mineral reserves. The Gerudo king balked at the request, for the Hylians had more riches than they knew what to do with and the Gerudo had so little.

The spat led to generations of war and unrest between the Gerudo and the Hylians. The Gerudo learned to live off what they had, though not without sacrifice. The drop in nutrition slowed population growth, and male children rarely made it through their first year. But the Gerudo people were resilient. Their bodies learned to reject male embryos, and spared them from carrying to term a child that would ultimately die. Gerudo biology evolved to the point where there was only one male born every generation, and any male who survived his first year of life was made king.

The Gerudo province was separated from the rest of Hyrule by the young Ordona province. Ordonia was the section of land where forest met desert, abandoned by the Hylian royals in favor of the sweeping plains. Pacifists from both sides used it as refuge, and while the province did not have as many resources as Hyrule proper, the land was fertile. Gerudo traded gems and tools to the Ordonians for water and crops, and promised not to fight on their land. In return the Ordonians became friendly with the Gerudo, and did not mind when they came around looking for mates.

After many generations of unrest, the Gerudo were growing tired and wanted to end their rivalry with the Hylians. The current king, Ganondorf, was a very powerful warlord. His strength and talent for magic far surpassed that of previous kings, and was a true threat to the king of Hyrule. However, Ganondorf had seen the carnage brought by centuries of war through his past lives. He still wanted power, but aimed to get it through means that would spare his kin. As part of his plan to form a truce with the king of Hyrule, Ganondorf ordered his generals off the offensive. He then marched on his own to Hyrule Castle.


	2. A Moment of Kindness

The people of Castle Town were terrified as they watched a long haired hulk of a man walk through the streets. Even the soldiers on duty backed away from him. It amused Ganondorf to see people reacting this way; after all the town was so far from the battlefields that the populace probably never saw a Gerudo let alone him.

Ganondorf made his way to the castle gate, and announced himself to the two puny soldiers at the entrance. "I demand to see your king, we have an armistice to discuss."

The guards cowered before him, but made no move to open the gate. Ganondorf repeated his demand with a little more volume, though it only resulted in a spear in his shoulder and two scared guards running off.

Ganondorf sighed and shook his head. He did not want to start with violence, but it looked as though he would have to force his way in. He snapped off the spear handle and began to pull the head out, when a girl started chiding him.

"You mustn't pull that out, it will cause more tissue damage and you'll get blood everywhere."

He looked for the source of the voice, but saw no one around. "Over here," she called, and he glanced up at the herald above the gate. He was stunned by what he saw. A beautiful girl, about seventeen years old, with ginger hair and fair skin sat on the edge of the rampart. She dangled her legs over the side, not afraid of the fall nor the warlord on her doorstep.

The second he laid eyes on her, Ganondorf knew who she was. He had met Zelda many times in his past lives, though always on shaky terms. Every time she looked his way, her face was covered with fright. But this time, Zelda was calm. She was even smiling at him. Him, Ganondorf, the embodiment of Hyrule's despair!

In addition to her wonderful smile, Ganondorf was awed by her appearance. All the others had blonde or golden brown hair, as well as blue eyes. This Zelda's eyes were a lovely violet, and he found himself unable to look away. She had her ancestors' noble features, but with a softened appearance that made her look humble. Without a doubt, she was the most beautiful girl he had ever seen.

"Here, let me help you take care of that," Zelda said about his injury, and slid down off the wall.

Ganondorf snapped back to his senses. That wall was close to twenty feet tall, and she had nothing to slow her down. She wasn't even wearing shoes. "NO!" he yelled, and dove forward to catch her. He caught her just in time, and hit the ground in her place. The impact pushed the broken spear further into his shoulder and he winced in pain, but at least she was safe.

"You fool, what did you do that for?! I could have landed myself," Zelda scolded as she helped Ganondorf sit up. "It looks like you've driven that thing further into your arm. Can I take your pauldron off?"

"Don't you know who I am?" he asked as she fussed with his armor. She gave him a funny look for ignoring her question, and proceeded to remove his armor anyway.

"Of course I know who you are, Lord Ganondorf. My father may not care to teach me about the ways of war, but that doesn't mean I must shelter myself from the events that go on outside the town walls. Forgive me for ripping your sleeve," Zelda said as she tore away his garment. "My nursemaid Impa has friends amongst the Gerudo, and it pains her to see our two peoples fighting over nothing. I assume you are here because it pains you as well?"

 _Lucky girl, she must not remember her past lives_ , Ganondorf thought to himself. As he watched her pick at the spear, he vaguely recalled a time when the two of them were close. It had to be one of his earliest incarnations, because his memories were usually confrontations. He saw her fussing over him just as she was now, and saw himself reaching out to tuck a strand of her hair behind her ear.

Zelda giggled and a slight blush came over her face, as Ganondorf realized he had just reenacted his memory. "Ah, forgive me..."

"It's quite alright, your majesty," she replied. "If you don't mind, might I ask you how much pain you are in? I may be able to numb you with some of my own magic, though I confess I am not as skilled as I should be..."

"The pain is incidental. Do what you need to."

Zelda nodded, and without further hesitation plunged her fingers into the wound. Ganondorf kept a straight face; he knew she was trying her best to numb the wound, but he could still feel her moving around and it hurt like hell. She felt for the edges of the spear, and if it was lodged in bone. She sighed in relief when it was not, and gently guided it out of his arm. Once it was out, Ganondorf covered the wound and muttered a spell to stop the bleeding. The rest could wait until he returned home.

"Oh my, that was an event wasn't it?" Zelda said with a smile, and used his ripped sleeve as a bandage. She looked at the blood covering her dress, and shrugged. It was only a sundress, anyway. "You should probably put your pauldron back on, since it will cover the wound."

"I thank you for your assistance, but again, why bother helping your enemy?" Ganondorf waited for a response, but Zelda only smiled. She got to her feet and went to the gate, ordering it be opened. To his surprise, it did.

"Come, I will see about getting you an audience with the king," Zelda said, and led Ganondorf into the courtyard. The Gerudo made eye contact with several guards along the way, but no one seemed willing to approach. Only one guard held their ground, and that was the guard standing directly in front of the castle doors.

As they got closer, Zelda's bloody dress put the guard on alert. "Princess, are you all right? What has this fiend done to you?!" The guard drew a blade from her belt, and leapt forward to put herself between Zelda and Ganondorf.

"No, Impa, please! Listen to me!" Zelda shouted as Impa pushed her out of the way, but Ganondorf merely laughed.

"Ah, I get to meet the famed General Impa at last... You may stand down, Sheikah, the blood is my own," he said while pointing to his shoulder. "Courtesy of an over zealous guard. Or should I say a guard who actually did his job, none of the others seemed to care that the enemy commander was waltzing through their city."

"That would be because they do not know you," Impa said as she sheathed her knife. "The rivalry with the Gerudo is largely a political stunt. Few people have heard the name Ganondorf and fewer still know what you look like. Why are you here?"

Ganondorf explained that his people were weary, and Impa understood. "You are a wise leader, then, if you recognize the futility of this conflict. I will see you to the king's meeting hall. Zelda, you must change from that dress immediately. We can't have you seen in bloodied clothing, now can we?"

Zelda shrugged. "I suppose not... Then, I take my leave, Lord Ganondorf. It was a pleasure meeting you in person." Zelda then gave Ganondorf a slight bow. "Until we meet again..."

In return, he laid a kiss upon her hand. "No, the pleasure was all mine, Princess. My apologies for having you treat my wound. I promise not to soil your clothing with my blood in the future." She smiled as she darted off, leaving the Gerudo king and Sheikah general alone in the courtyard.

"She will be seventeen in one week."

Ganondorf turned to Impa in confusion, while she kept her eye on Zelda. "I know that look the two of you gave each other. You are twenty seven, according to record. Try to remember how fragile the heart is at her age."

"Exactly the kind of statement I'd expect from the princess's nursemaid," he joked as he followed Impa into the castle.


	3. Sadness Soothed

Zelda sat along a bench in the garden reading, when she heard a door slam and heavy footsteps. Looking up, she saw an angry Gerudo march over to a fountain and lean against the rails.

"I take it things didn't go well?"

Ganondorf looked up when he heard the angelic voice of the princess. "Not the way I wanted them to, no..."

"You can tell me," Zelda offered as she hopped up onto the rails. "Whenever he upsets me, it always helps to talk it out with someone."

"He wants something from my people to make up for the past disputes. Only then will he end this." Ganondorf gripped the rails so hard, the stone started to crack. "I ask only that my kin be treated like the citizens of Hyrule that they are. How hard is it to grant such a request?!"

"He fears that you and your people may one day overtake his authority," Zelda mused. "You had the courage to break from the pattern of your ancestors and try to make peace. He fears change."

Ganondorf scoffed. "Too bad I couldn't just wait for him to die, and then make a deal with you."

"Not an option, I'm afraid," Zelda sighed, and kicked at the air. "I've been told the people like me because I'm humble, but the royal advisors do not want me to rule on my own. I think their plan is to marry me to the noble they feel will make the best king. I am fairly certain they have me followed so I don't mess their plan up..."

Zelda lowered her head and stared at the ground, dejected. Ganondorf noticed, and lifted her chin back up. "Do not despair, Princess. I know for certain that you are a capable ruler. The mere fact that you welcomed me into the castle instead of attacking me speaks to your open mindedness. And besides," Ganondorf paused to pull back Zelda's hair, "it was very noble of you to treat my wound." As a thank you, Ganondorf pressed a light kiss to Zelda's cheek. "I will see you again, my princess..."

"Yes, I hope you will," Zelda answered with a smile, rubbing her cheek as Ganondorf took his leave.

* * *

It was a week before Ganondorf returned to the castle. He needed time to calm his temper before approaching the king again, though he still would not concede. Hylians and Gerudo were once the same tribe, and so the Hylians had no right to treat his people like dirt.

The castle guards let him in without incident this time, though Ganondorf guarded his sore shoulder just in case. He entered the castle and was making his way to the throne room, when he heard sad music coming from an adjacent hall. The tune was vaguely familiar, and brought back some of his oldest memories. Intrigued, he followed the sound to a balcony overlooking the castle graveyard. The source was down below, leaning against an intricate gravestone.

"Zelda..."

The princess stopped playing her lyre and looked up at the Gerudo. "Oh, Lord Ganondorf..." She looked rather sad, though his appearance brought a smile to her face. Ganondorf wasted no time in coming to her, descending the balcony with a simple jump.

"I've never seen someone jump from a balcony that high..."

"And yet you slid down from a rampart just as tall," Ganondorf replied as he sat next to Zelda. "Your playing was lovely, why do you look so glum?"

Zelda absentmindedly brushed her hand against the gravestone. "It's nothing. Two days ago was my birthday..."

Ganondorf sensed something was wrong, and glanced past Zelda's shoulder at the grave. It belonged to the late Queen Iriana, Zelda's mother. The date on the stone was ten years and two days ago- on Zelda's seventh birthday.

"...I don't like birthdays, nothing good ever comes of them," Zelda said as she stared at the ground. "I asked for a present once, a little brother or sister, because I love children. I didn't know she was already under pressure from the others... As time went on she kept getting headaches, had trouble seeing, then she had convulsions. I know now what happened, but back then I just couldn't understand. I was happy when I woke up on my birthday, and went straight to her room. But she wasn't conscious. Her breathing was ragged. She didn't even make it to noon."

Zelda began sobbing and leaned into Ganondorf for comfort. He held her close, and smoothed her hair. He thought about saying something to console her, but decided that she didn't need another stranger telling her it was okay. Instead, he began humming the tune Zelda had been playing earlier. The humming soothed Zelda's pain, and she started nodding off. Just before falling asleep, Zelda laced hers and Ganondorf's fingers together.

"May you have a thousand pleasant dreams, princess of destiny..."


	4. A Special Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Psst... fun times ahead... ;)

When Zelda woke she was nestled in the desert king's arms, tucked into a corner of the graveyard beneath the balcony. She looked up and found Ganondorf nodding off, bringing a smile to her face. He was smart to choose the spot they were at; people looking out from the balcony wouldn't see them, and no one ever entered the graveyard except for her. Even the people Zelda thought were following her would stay away, thanks to an old superstition that only Sheikah could spy in cemeteries.

Zelda took a strand of Ganondorf's hair and wrapped it around her finger, causing him to shift in his sleep and hold her closer to him. As Zelda studied Ganondorf's sleeping face, she felt a memory emerging in the back of her mind. She was sitting in the grass, with someone laying their head across her lap. This person was larger than Ganondorf, with darker skin yet brighter hair. But she realized that both of them stirred feelings in her heart, just as she probably stirred feelings in theirs. It gave her some confidence, and so she leaned up to Ganondorf and pressed their lips together.

The kiss woke Ganondorf, who returned the gesture with vigor. He then rolled Zelda onto the ground, making her laugh. They kissed again, though this time Zelda opened her mouth and gave the Gerudo king access.

After several minutes of wordless kissing and caressing, the two were interrupted by a thunder clap. Since Zelda was wearing no more than a simple pink dress, Ganondorf detached the cape from his belt and used it to shield her from the coming rain.

"We normally praise the rain when it comes, but right now I want to curse it," Ganondorf mumbled, unhappy that their tryst had been interrupted.

"We can take shelter in the old gravekeeper's cabin," Zelda suggested, pointing across the way to an old wooden door. Ganondorf agreed and picked Zelda up, then ran through the sudden downpour into the small room.

Once inside, Ganondorf set Zelda down and began stripping his waterlogged armor away. Zelda found an old lantern and lit it, then examined the rest of the cabin. "The gravekeeper has been dead for years, I'm surprised how well the-"

Zelda cut her sentence short when she turned toward Ganondorf. He had removed everything down to his waist, and was bent over ringing his hair out. He paused when he saw Zelda staring, and it made him smirk. "I take it you like what you see... You were saying?"

The princess remained silent, so Ganondorf came over to Zelda and lifted her chin. "My eyes are up here, Your Grace."

Ganondorf's words brought Zelda's earlier vision back to her, and she wasted no time pulling him into another kiss. Ganondorf let out a feral sounding growl as Zelda raked her nails along his neck, and she responded by wrapping her legs around his waist.

"You're rather eager for a young princess," Ganondorf murmured as he suckled at Zelda's earlobe. "I'm not sure I can restrain myself if you keep that up..."

Zelda mewed from a kiss to her neck, and gripped him tighter. When she caught her breath, she managed to speak. "The last few days have been miserable, please help me forget them..."

Exactly the answer he wanted to hear, Ganondorf purred and laid Zelda on the old bed in the corner. As he leaned back to remove the rest of his armor, he said, "You'll have to forgive me if I'm a little rusty at this, I've only got my past lives' experiences to go from."

"Then we will learn together," Zelda answered as she slid out of her dress and pulled him close.

* * *

The pair woke before dawn, giving themselves enough time to sneak away without incident. Zelda held tightly to Ganondorf, reluctant to return to normal castle life. He shared her pain, but knew prolonging their separation would only create more grief. So he kissed Zelda's forehead and gently detached himself from her grip.

"I know that we would be punished if my father were to find us together, but at the same time I don't want you to go," Zelda lamented as she watched Ganondorf reapply his armor. She sat up in bed, clutching the cape they used as a blanket. "Oh, I wish you could stay..."

"I wish I could stay as well, dear one. My people need me for the harvest, else I would remain here with you and try to find a solution to this cold war." Ganondorf helped Zelda into her dress, then took one last kiss before they parted. "Give me a month or two at most, and I will return to you. I promise."

* * *

Zelda remained in the gravekeeper's cabin until the sun was high in the sky, then slunk out into the courtyard. She acknowledged the servants she passed on her way to her bedroom, but remained downtrodden. Once there she plopped down onto her bed and buried her face in a pillow, not even noticing she wasn't alone.

"...In case you were wondering, I told them you were ill." Impa moved from her chair in the corner and sat beside Zelda, then rubbed her shoulders to comfort her. "Were you in the graveyard again?"

The princess nodded, but kept her face buried.

Impa noticed something about Zelda's ear and neck, and it made her sigh. "Hmm. You know, I thought I saw that Gerudo roaming around here yesterday, but he never came before the king. You wouldn't happen to have seen him, would you? I think he was hanging around the graveyard..."

Zelda sat up and glared at her nursemaid. "Yes, Impa, alright, I was with him."

"I can see that. Make sure you touch up those bruises on your ears and neck before you head out for the day," Impa said while she fussed with Zelda's tangled hair. "If anyone asks you had a bad headache and chest congestion. Make sure you cough a few times as well. And Zelda..."

Zelda turned Impa's way, and the Sheikah smiled. "No matter what happens, I will always be proud of you."

Impa's words made Zelda happy, and the two embraced. "Thank you, Impa..."


	5. Proof Positive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big thanks to all who read the first version of this chapter on tumblr. I think I've made some good progress with this chapter, and have split it up so that this part focuses only on Zelda's discovery. Next part will be when the advisors find out, and depending on length will also have their retaliation.

It had only been a week, but Zelda was already feeling the effects of Ganondorf's absence. She didn't realize how deeply she had fallen for him until she caught herself digging through the castle archives for information on the Gerudo. She was also bothered about her memory in the graveyard, enough to open up to Impa.

"I wouldn't worry about it, my dear," Impa reassured after listening to Zelda's memory. "Your bloodline goes back to the first settlers of Hyrule, and many of your ancestors held a piece of the Golden Power. Memories and experiences are often shared with descendants, so it's not surprising that you saw a vision from one of their lives."

After some thought, Impa continued. "Perhaps this is a vision from the earliest days of Hyrule. After all, the Gerudo firmly believe that your people and theirs were once the same tribe, and that dark man you described sounds very much like a male Gerudo."

Zelda fiddled with a napkin in her lap. "But why did I... I mean, whoever that was brought forth immense feelings of love and heartache. When I looked back to Ganondorf, I felt like this vision was telling me I had to act while I had the chance. And then, when he called me 'your grace', I lost it."

"Love is a strange beast," Impa answered. "Sometimes you just have to trust your instincts."

* * *

Zelda woke in the middle of the night with overwhelming nausea, and barely made it to her wash basin before vomiting. This was the third such night in a row. In addition her chest felt heavy, and despite having eaten less than usual since Ganondorf left, she appeared to be gaining weight.

Once she collected herself, Zelda lit a candle and went to her desk. A student of white magic, she had studied many ailments and diseases in order to prevent becoming just another sickly Zelda. She kept track of every time she got sick on a calendar, as well as when she took potions and when she menstruated.

Zelda picked up her calendar to note the latest vomiting. She glanced back to the previous month, and smiled at the circle three days after her birthday. It was nearly one whole month since Ganondorf left, and any day now he would be returning. Determined to get better before then, Zelda flipped back to the current day and marked her symptoms.

Once finished, Zelda took a look at all the dates she had marked for vomiting. They started about one week after Ganondorf left, and had been sporadic up until the previous three days. That was when she noticed that she forgot to mark the previous month's menstruation.

"Huh, that's odd, I never forget to write something down." Zelda scratched her head and tried to remember when it was, before realizing that she didn't have one this past month. Immediately she withdrew her medical text from the desk and flipped to the section on menstruation.

Right away, Zelda found the symptoms she'd been having in the past month listed beside a rather unsettling term. She read it again, and again, and by the fifth time the book slid out of her hands onto the floor.

After staring into nothingness for several minutes, Zelda got up and paced around the room. This was something she had always wanted, but at the same time she was uncertain. Seventeen, unwed, and under the magnifying glass of the royal advisors... But Ganondorf was charming, handsome, and a king in his own right. This could even be a chance to end the war between the Hylians and the Gerudo!

Mind made up, Zelda laid back down on the bed. Her hands went to her stomach, and she smiled.

"I'm going to be a mother..."

* * *

Zelda chewed her nails to the quick as she sat in the library. When Zelda woke for the day, she realized she had a bigger problem on her hands than she originally thought. She was still being followed. Sooner or later the spies would discover her secret, and would surely inform her father. She truly feared what he or the royal advisors would do to her or worse, to the baby.

She needed Impa and Ganondorf on her side before anyone else found out. She wanted to speak with Impa right away, but Impa had been in a security meeting since sun up. Once the noon chime rang out, Zelda bolted from the library, hoping to catch Impa as they broke for lunch. She was in luck, as Impa was talking with a guard right in front of the meeting hall.

"Impa, I need to see you right now!"

"Yes, your highness, I'll be with you in a minute," Impa acknowledged but returned to her conversation with the guard.

"Impaaa..."

Sighing, Impa dismissed the guard and pulled Zelda aside. "Child, what could be so important that you could not wait?"

Zelda looked around nervously, so Impa led them back into the empty meeting room. "Zelda, what is wrong? Are you feeling alright?"

"No, and that's what I need to talk to you about. What am I going to do?" Zelda nervously clutched at her abdomen, making Impa's eyes widen.

Impa knew Zelda had been under the weather these last few weeks, but she hadn't realized the cause. Now that Zelda was frantic and covering herself, she knew exactly what was wrong. After a deep sigh, she pulled Zelda close. "...Nayru's love, you are still a baby yourself."

Zelda started crying in response, and Impa smoothed her hair to console her. "There is no reason for you to cry, my dear, you've done nothing wrong. A child is a wonderful gift, and I'm sure your mother would be just as proud of you as I am."

When Zelda had calmed down, Impa dried her face and straightened her circlet. The two smiled at each other, and left to fetch lunch. Neither noticed that the guard Impa dismissed had been listening in on their conversation.


	6. The Council

After speaking with Impa, Zelda felt a little more positive about her situation. The next step would be to inform Ganondorf, though that made her nervous. How would he react? She knew that the Gerudo were very intimate beings, but how would their king react? Would he be angry that the only time he had sex with her resulted in this? After all, he only saw her three times.

Zelda was deep in thought as Impa entered the room, informing her that they had been summoned before the king. The two cleaned up and went to the throne room, where they were surprised to see the entire complement of royal advisors in attendance. Impa was made to stand back, while Zelda went up before the dais.

"Zelda, I have heard a very disturbing rumor," the king said. "A rumor that if true, threatens the very future of this kingdom. Zelda... is it true that you are with child?"

Zelda's eyes grew wide from shock. How did they find out, when she had only realized it herself this morning? An equally stunned Impa glared at the panel of advisors; one of them must have been spying on her and Zelda in the meeting room and informed the king.

The king started to repeat his question, but Zelda chose to interrupt. "Father... the rumors are true. I am expecting a child." Horrified gasps filled the room, but Zelda stood tall as she stared down her father. Any other time, she would be terrified to stand up to him and the royal advisors. Today, however, was the day that meek little girl died. Today, Zelda stood before them as a mother willing to do anything for the sake of her child.

The king stayed silent as the advisors launched into a cacophony of gasps and dissent. The chamberlain and chaplain made the sign of the Goddesses across their chests, the matron huffed and fanned her face, the chief physician shook his head in shame... But it was the seneschal who caused the most fuss.

"This is completely unacceptable!" he cried. "The unwed princess carrying a child from Goddesses know who? How can we hope to preserve the integrity of the royal family after such a development?! This is disgraceful and sullies the name of Hylia! You should be ashamed for even carrying her lineage, let alone that bastard inside you!"

Zelda's blood began to boil, and strange feelings surfaced from the back of her mind. A foreign yet familiar consciousness took over her thoughts. _How would Hylia feel? I'd feel the same way I did the last time I carried_ his _child. Ecstatic. Blessed. **Proud**._

The words reminded Zelda of her previous visions, and just like in the graveyard, they gave her confidence. Channeling her forgotten incarnation, she snapped back, "How DARE you presume to tell me how Hylia would feel! Hylia valued life in all its forms, no matter who was the sire. Have you all forgotten that Mother was two years younger than I am now when she gave birth? Did you make a fuss out of that?"

"The queen was married," hissed the seneschal. "You are naught but a whore." 

Impa erupted into Sheikah curses, causing the rest of the room to lose their remaining composure. Zelda tried to keep standing tall against the advisors and their insults, but all the shouting was making her nauseous. She grabbed her head and tried to will it away, but to no avail. Impa noticed Zelda's distress, and broke away from the guards that were keeping her back.

" _Shahzadi_ , I've got you, I'll take you away from this torture," Impa whispered as she lifted Zelda into her arms. "The shame falls on YOU, council," she snapped at the advisors. "Berating a pregnant girl simply because she messed up your plans is juvenile and undignified. If you wish for further audience with the princess, then you will have to earn it."

With that, Impa charged out of the throne room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Impa's pet name for Zelda is Sheikah for "princess". Sheikah speak a language near identical to Arabic.


	7. The Decision

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this is a short one! The next chapter will be very important.

Impa carried the fatigued Zelda back to her bedroom. Once there, Zelda refused to let go of her nursemaid's neck. " _Shahzadi_ , please, I share your pain but you must let go of me. Do you expect me to lie in bed with you?"

Though Impa offered in jest, Zelda nodded as she started sniffling. "I'm... I'm scared, Nanny. I'm scared of what they might do to me... to my baby..." The young mother-to-be held tightly to her nursemaid, and started shaking. Impa recognized the severity of the situation and sat down on the bed, then began humming Zelda's favorite lullaby. She was asleep in minutes.

In the morning, Impa woke to a skittish maid tapping her on the shoulder. The maid had brought their breakfast trays up, but was surprised to find them still asleep. Impa dismissed her, then gently woke Zelda.

Zelda felt slightly better when she woke, but there was still a sense of unease about her. She stayed quiet as she ate her breakfast and as Impa washed and combed her hair. Impa was about to ask if there was anything more she could do to help, when there was a knock on the door. It was the constable, the one royal advisor who Impa respected.

"Good morning, General. My apologies for yesterday, you know how the council can be..."

Impa moved protectively in front of Zelda. "What do you want, Constable Alfonzo?"

"The king has asked to see Princess Zelda," he answered, glancing past Impa's shoulder at the cowering princess. "I can only assume they have calmed themselves and reached some sort of decision on how to handle the situation."

Impa looked to Zelda, who still had doubt on her face, then back to the constable. "You were not in attendance while they reached this 'decision', Alfonzo?"

The constable shook his head. "Afraid not, General. I expressed my concern that everything was happening the way the goddesses intended, which got me laughed out of the room. When I reported this morning, they sent me to fetch you. If I had to say why, it would probably be because they knew you'd listen to me instead of attacking me. They know you too well, Impa."

Impa laughed. "Alright. We'll be along shortly."

* * *

With Impa's help, Zelda donned her best formal dress and came before the council. Her hands were shaking and her gloves were soaked with sweat, but she stood tall as she waited for them to speak.

"Zelda, the council has reached a decision on how to handle this matter," the king announced, breaking the heavy silence. "It is rather disturbing that you have put your own interests above those of your country. However, you are young, and as it was our responsibility to teach you the ways of nobility, we will accept the blame. You will be forgiven for your trespasses... on one condition."

"Yes, father?"

"You will terminate the pregnancy," the king ordered.

The words set Zelda off into a panic. She gasped and ran to Impa, instinctively clutching at her abdomen and burying herself in the Sheikah's arms. "No, no they can't take my baby away from me!"

"It is the only acceptable course of action," the seneschal shouted after hearing Zelda's muffled words. "Who knows what sort of lowbrow scum the father is..."

"HE IS NOT SCUM!" Zelda screamed through fresh tears. "I don't care what you old goats think about me or my baby, there is no way in Demise's Fire I am giving up my child so you can keep up appearances!"

The king and several members of the council gasped at Zelda's outburst, causing Impa to drop herself and Zelda to the ground. " _Shahzadi_ , your manners! My apologies, Your Majesty, the child is rather upset. Please forgive her" she pleaded, trying her best to diffuse the situation and keep the two of them from the pillory.

"Our decision stands, General," The king answered with a hint of annoyance in his voice. "We can not have the princess of Hyrule polluting the blood of the royal family like this. The pregnancy must be terminated."

Tears pouring down her cheeks, Zelda peeled herself from Impa's chest and glared at the king and council. "No. There is nothing any of you can do to change my mind, not even you, Father. So long as I draw breath, I will never give up my baby."


	8. Afflicition

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story is up to 21092 words, I'm so happy! After this there is at most two more chapters to write, then I can upload several chapters (and actually get to the title character) before the first part ends.

Several days had gone by since the disastrous meeting with the king and royal advisors. Zelda kept mostly to her bedroom and the library, though more often than not Impa brought Zelda books so she did not have to risk encountering one of the council.

Impa was rather unsettled by the lack of retribution from the king. Zelda had mouthed off to him in front of all the nobility, and inaction would undermine his authority as their leader. There was always the possibility that he would go easy on Zelda, after all he was her only remaining relative, but that seemed like a long shot.

"Impa..."

Zelda was sitting on her bed, flipping through a text on childcare, when she suddenly got a terrible headache. She tried to reach for Impa but knocked her night table over, sending a lamp and snack tray crashing to the ground. Zelda wobbled and collapsed onto the bed, unconscious.

" _Shahzadi_ , what's wrong? Is it from the child?" Impa gathered Zelda into her arms, then felt her forehead. "Great Din, you are boiling up! GUARDS! _GUARDS!!"_

Impa's shouts brought a maid and the nearest soldier charging into the room. The maid rushed over to Zelda's side and helped Impa disrobe her, while the guard ran for the doctor. Her entire body was sticky from sweat, and yet she was shivering uncontrollably.

Apprentice physician Anju came running into the room, followed by the guard and several maids. "What has happened?! How long has Princess Zelda been unconscious?"

"Where is Chief Physician Rhames? This is an emergency of the highest degree!" Impa shouted, annoyed that only the less experienced apprentice came to help.

"I am sorry General Impa, but he wasn't in his office. There was correspondence on his desk that suggests he left for a conference in Kasuto, and I've already sent pages to retrieve him," Anju replied as she checked Zelda's pupils. "The symptoms, when?"

"Not but an hour ago," Impa answered after apologizing. "There was dizziness right before she fell unconscious."

Anju nodded and listened to Zelda's heartbeat. "Palpitations. What was she doing right before this happened?"

"Reading, though I did see her grab her head." Impa sighed, before asking, "Are you aware of the princess's current..."

"I hold no grudge, sir," Anju answered warmly. "How far along is the pregnancy?"

"...Maybe a month and a half."

Anju shook her head, confused by Zelda's symptoms. "The clamminess, headache, fever, palpitations, unconsciousness... What did she have to eat? Could it have been poisoned?"

"Her usual tea and biscuits. I had some of the same, and I don't feel ill. Then again, I have been exposed to many things in my years and it might not have affected me." Impa helped Anju roll Zelda over, and held her steady while Anju injected medicine into her lower neck.

"I've injected something to hopefully control the fever and bring her back, but that's all I can do for now," Anju said as she tidied up. "I prescribe potassium and magnesium supplements for the palpitations and headaches, once she wakes up. I also recommend a full potion series, and several visits with the grief councilors. From what I've heard, she's going to be devastated."

Impa's eyes widened, and she grabbed the apprentice's shoulder in alarm. "What do you mean by that?"

Anju sighed. "All signs point to poisoning, especially since the princess rarely gets sick. I hate to say it, but... poisoning in the early stages of pregnancy has a ninety-five percent chance of causing miscarriage. I'm sorry, the best I can tell you to do is pray to the goddesses for a miracle."

Impa gasped. This baby meant everything to Zelda, and losing it would destroy the poor girl. She grabbed Anju's other shoulder and stared her in the eye. "I will NOT accept such a thing! There must be a way to save the baby, think!"

"M-maybe if Doctor Rhames was here, but I..."

Frantic, Impa shook Anju. "Come on, woman, think of something, anything!! It doesn't have to be sanctioned! Theories, or, or holistic... SOMETHING!"

Anju thought hard, and tried to find an answer that would console the nursemaid. "S-Sheikah have been known to reverse poisons, maybe your people could..."

That was all Impa needed to hear before releasing Anju and running from the room. Her birthplace of Kakariko was too far a journey to make considering the circumstances, but the local fortune teller was Sheikah and might have some remedies on hand.


	9. Panic

Impa returned from the fortune teller to find Zelda awake, just barely. She didn’t seem too cognizant, and judging from the vomited mess that Anju was cleaning from the blankets, she wasn’t holding anything down. After handing Anju a trove of medicines and liniments, Impa cupped Zelda’s cheek and said her name, hoping she would look her way. All she got were a few coughs.

“This isn’t right,” Anju remarked as she laid a cool cloth over Zelda’s forehead. “Pregnancy or not, I’ve never seen anyone get this ill. It has to be poison.” She looked to Impa and asked, “You said you ate the same things she did?”

“Zoran mint tea, with ginger biscuits and cream cheese,” Impa answered, and folded her arms before continuing. “Zoran mint has a slightly metallic aftertaste; it could hide a poison. But who would dare poison the Princess of Hyrule? Nothing could be gained from this…”

“Could it be the Gerudo? We are at war with them, no?”

“Believe me when I say that is impossible,” Impa answered with a snort. “Besides, the Gerudo would never be so cowardly. Only someone with a grudge would do something so underhanded as poisoning a girl and endangering her child.”

As soon as the words left her lips, Impa had a realization. Zelda was genuinely loved throughout Hyrule, with one exception- the royal advisors. Only they would be brazen enough to hurt Zelda in retaliation for her resistance. No, only one of them was that cowardly. And Impa knew exactly who.

“Anju, use those medicines to stabilize her condition. The green will help keep her from vomiting, the yellow will fight to prevent miscarriage.” Impa then turned on her heel and ran from the room.

* * *

Zelda came around slowly, at first unaware of her surroundings but slowly regaining her bearings. She had no energy to move her body, but was able to turn her head and see Impa sitting beside the bed, with a sad expression on her face.

“…What happened?”

“ _Shahzadi_ , love, you’ve been very sick,” Impa answered. “You collapsed about a week ago. You opened your eyes a few times since then, but you were not alert enough to interact with us. We’ve been feeding you diluted blue potion because you have thrown up everything else, and I’ve applied several of my people’s remedies to help you regain your strength.”

“Why am I sick? Is the baby okay?”

Impa grimaced, causing Zelda to start shaking. She used every ounce of strength she could muster to roll over, and stared Impa straight in the face. “The baby… What happened to my baby?!”

“Zelda, listen to me very carefully.” Impa took a deep breath, and held Zelda’s hand. “You were poisoned by one of the royal advisors. I investigated, and found that the seneschal was trying to force a miscarriage. I have already-”

Zelda interrupted Impa with a whimper, and her eyes began to water.

“I know what you’re thinking, child,” Impa said as she cupped Zelda’s cheek. “As far as I can tell, for the moment you are still pregnant. However, I am very concerned that something might happen. The poison was specifically chosen to induce miscarriage without killing you. Anju and I have administered everything we could to accelerate the poison’s decomposition, but we’re fighting an uphill battle with unloaded weapons. Frankly, it’s in the Goddesses hands now.”

As soon as Impa finished speaking, Zelda lost her composure. She began crying and shaking, mumbling prayers in hopes of keeping the baby. Impa and Anju tried consoling her and getting her to lie still, but Zelda continued thrashing about. Anju was forced to administer a sedative to keep Zelda from further harming herself.

“ _Shazadi_ , honey, listen to me,” Impa whispered as the sedative started to work. “It won’t do the baby much good if her mother isn’t well enough to carry her. You need to rest.”

Zelda calmed a bit, though tears still ran down her face. As she nodded off, she moved her right hand over her stomach. “If the Goddesses could grant me one wish, my life for my baby’s…”


	10. Death and Dishonor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Those of you who speak Nerd will recognize Impa's weapon. ;)

A few days later, Zelda had regained enough strength to sit up in bed. Anju upgraded her to undiluted blue potion, with a little of Impa's yellow Sheikah concoction. Impa took a small sample of Zelda's blood, and compared it to a sample Anju had taken when Zelda first fell ill. Using a Sheikah chemical kit, Impa attempted to isolate the pregnancy compound in Zelda's blood. Once she found it, she checked both samples.

"Hmm, this is promising... I can't tell for sure, but it looks as though the blood sample Anju took right after you collapsed has _less_ of the pregnancy compound than the one just now." Impa showed her work to Anju, who agreed.

"What does that mean?" Zelda asked. "I must admit I was never good at the alchemy side of white magic."

"This compound increases as the pregnancy goes on," Anju explained. "So if the sample we took this morning is higher than when you fell ill, that means that development has continued despite the poisoning. I would say that you still are pregnant."

Zelda sighed, and hugged Impa in relief.

"...I wouldn't celebrate yet," Impa sadly mumbled. "You may still be pregnant, but we don't know how the poisoning might affect the baby. Plus, we don't know if the Goddesses will hold you to your word..."

"I had a dream, Impa."

Impa sat up straight. Zelda's dreams were never taken lightly. Wisdom was long known to favor members of the Hylian Royal Family, particularly girls named Zelda. And like her ancestor so many lives ago, the Divine Gift had manifested itself through Zelda's dreams.

"They actually spoke to me this time! The fact that I was willing to give my life for my baby meant more to them than anything I could offer, even my own life. They are going to let us both live. I wasn't sure it was really them at first, but your test convinced me." Zelda smiled, and patted her stomach. "I just hate to imagine how Ga... _the father_ will react to the poisoning," she mumbled, looking to Anju who was in the corner gathering some towels and hoping she didn't hear.

"Well, about that... there's something I haven't told you."

Zelda recognized Impa's tone. "What have you done...?"

Impa sighed. "...Anju, give us a minute."

Anju acknowledged Impa's request, and stepped outside. Once she was gone, Impa stood and walked to the window. "Nothing _he_ wouldn't have, I suppose. Ordinarily such a thing would get me in a well's worth of trouble, but thankfully I have taken steps to ensure-"

"Impa."

The princess's glare made Impa cut to the chase. "...The seneschal is dead."

Zelda let out a heavy sigh and shook her head. "You didn't stab him with your _bat'leth_ did you? It was a present from your Gerudo friends and would lead suspicion straight to them!"

"I wouldn't be that careless, dear. Besides, the offense called for a more _personal_ touch... and Sheikah don't leave bruises." Impa cracked her knuckles and smirked. "From what I've heard, the king and the council believe his death was divine retribution for your illness. They have asked to see you once you are well, so perhaps they have changed their minds about you."

Zelda thought for a bit, before nodding. "Well... I do feel well enough to stand. Perhaps I can see them tomorrow. With the luck we've had, maybe Ganondorf will come back soon, too!"

* * *

 In the morning, Zelda felt good enough to rise from bed on her own. Impa, who had been staying with Zelda, moved to the closet to prepare her attire. Just then the door opened, and the king along with chief physician Rhames strode inside.

"Impa, you are dismissed," Rhames ordered.

Impa balked. "I refuse! What is the meaning of this? Where is Anju?"

"Anju has been sent to Kasuto in Rhames' place. There is an urgent matter to discuss," the king answered. He looked to Zelda quivering behind Impa. Impa steadfastly held Zelda's hand, and it was clear they were not going to be separated.

"Very well... We have reached a final decision on how to handle this _situation_ ," Rhames said. "It would seem that fate favors your well being. However, we can not excuse your sinful behavior."

"Explain to me how bringing life into the world is sinful," Impa snorted.

Rhames ignored Impa, and directed his comment straight at Zelda. "If you value this child's life that much, you may have it- at the cost of your own."

It took every ounce of Impa's willpower not to draw her weapon in response. Zelda noticed, and put her arm on Impa's shoulder to calm her. "Father, you don't mean you'll..."

"Since your resolve is unwavering, you have left us with no alternative," Rhames said, speaking once more for the king. "The council has announced to the people this morning... that Princess Zelda succumbed to her injuries."

Zelda and Impa were struck speechless. There was no way the people would believe such a ruse, was there? Anju knew Zelda was recovered, and surely the maids would know she wasn't dead...

Zelda sat down on the bed, attempting to hide her shaking hands in her lap. "Father, why? Why do you let them do this? Are you truly that disappointed in me? Don't... don't you love me?" She looked up and waited for a response.

None came.


	11. Spirited Away

Impa moved swiftly through the forest, using shadow to cover her tracks. Zelda slept on her back, physically and mentally exhausted. The poor girl had cried herself to sleep in Impa's arms many a night after her 'sentencing', and Impa just couldn't stand subjecting her to any more castle politics.

Shortly after that terrible meeting, there was a state funeral held for Zelda, with a fake body inside the coffin. The real Zelda was confined to her bedroom, until the middle of the night when she was shunted away to the cabin in the graveyard. Her survival of the poisoning was decreed as fate, so the council didn't dare kill her. Instead, she was to live the rest of her life there in hiding with her child. Zelda and Impa were warned by the royal advisors that if anyone found out Zelda was alive, anyone at all, they would punish Zelda in the worst way imaginable. Fearing they would hurt the baby, Zelda complied, though she fell into a deep depression.

It took a month to plan, but in a clever feat of Sheikah skill, Impa had convinced the king and advisors that Zelda suffered from the same pregnancy ailment that her mother had. An ancient spell from beyond the Sand Sea provided a lifeless yet accurate shell of the princess, and Impa presented it to the king with all the emotion of a mother who had lost their child. They bought it, and laid the effigy in the empty coffin they had paraded around at her state funeral.

The Sheikah general was bound to remain in service of the king, but she was entitled to a period of mourning as Zelda's primary caregiver. Under the guise of returning to her birthplace of Kakariko, Impa departed the castle and located an abandoned cottage deep within Ordon Forest. It was an ideal hideaway- nestled in a small grove, near a pond and stream, and far enough from Ordon Village that it wasn't easily found yet close enough in case of emergencies.

Zelda woke just as Impa arrived at the cottage. "Where...?"

"We are about a half day's ride from the Hylian border, in Ordona Province," Impa said as she laid Zelda on the bed inside. "This cottage is nestled in Ordon Forest, safely tucked away from any village paths. The surrounding glade is accessed via tunnel, which I will cover with ivy. No one will find you, you will be safe."

"...What about food?"

"I won't lie, you will need to cultivate the majority of your diet. But the land is fertile, you have easy access to a stream, and the waterfall pool just outside the tunnel is an excellent source of fish. I will also make sure that you get a cow and some cuccos."

Zelda processed the information for a nearly a minute, then began weeping as she clutched at her now visible stomach. "Wha... what am I going to do? I can't... it'll hurt the baby..."

"Oh, Zelda..." Impa sat beside Zelda and rubbed her back. "I'm not expecting you to be out tilling or fishing while you're pregnant. If you're like your mother, you will have to stay in bed for the later half of the pregnancy, so you need easily prepared meals. I've already stocked the root cellar with enough dried meat and vegetables to last you a year. I plan to check on you every chance I get, but you should be fine until the birth."

Impa withdrew several pouches from the kitchen cabinets, and explained their contents to Zelda. They were potions and herbs divided by week, prepared in order to sustain the baby. Neither Zelda nor Impa knew how the poisoning had affected development, so Impa decided on formulas that encouraged healthy development. Zelda would have to soak the herbs in the potion and drink it down, in addition to her regular meals.

Overwhelmed, Zelda curled into a ball and began crying for Ganondorf. Impa sighed, and tucked her under the covers. She hummed Zelda's favorite lullaby until the crying became the steady breathing of sleep, then fetched a cool washcloth for Zelda's forehead.

"Goddesses, please grant Zelda and her child your protection in these coming trials..."


	12. Baby

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter contains semi-graphic **childbirth**.

Impa stayed with Zelda for a few days, until obligation called her back to the castle. Zelda did her best to adjust to her new environment. She had always been somewhat of an introvert, but being completely isolated started to take its toll.

Zelda preserved her sanity by talking to her unborn child. Every day she rubbed her stomach and told the baby stories about the goddesses, her family history, and what she knew of Ganondorf's people and culture.

As days went by, Zelda found herself rethinking her life more and more. By her culture seventeen was considered mature, though Zelda felt as though she had missed out on the transition of becoming an adult.

Living in the castle with everything handed to her didn't allow for the same kinds of experiences as her ancestors. Indeed, many Zeldas past had gone on wild adventures before puberty. She had read about a Zelda who had been turned to stone and back again, of one who had traveled through time, even of one who had been turned to crystal by a malicious priest. All she had done was become pregnant by the enemy commander.

Then again, this was an adventure in its own. She was the first Zelda to shrug off castle life in favor of simple living, had survived and protected her baby from what should have been a fatal poisoning, and was going to raise a child that could one day possibly bring Hyrule's two peoples back together.

Zelda continued to pass the months until birth doing all she could to become a good mother. Impa visited three more times, bringing several texts about birthing, childhood education, and simple medical procedures. Zelda's natural curiosity helped her learn quickly, and by the ninth month she felt as though she was prepared for the weeks ahead.

That is, until her water broke as she was having breakfast.

* * *

Zelda sat in bed, her back against the headboard and her knees bent up to her stomach. The pain had been coming more often, and she knew the baby was on its way. She had already laid all her extra blankets underneath her to catch the blood, after all she didn't want to soil the bed like she did the couch when her water broke.

"Please honey, stay in there a little longer," Zelda whimpered. She was afraid to give birth without Impa, who wouldn't be able to leave the castle for another week. However, the baby would not wait that long. Zelda screamed after a rather strong contraction, and found herself pushing.

"No no no no... Ahh! Stop, stop, please...!"

The contractions continued to where Zelda wanted to pull her hair out, yet the baby still didn't come out. She glanced out the window at the autumn sunset; her water had broken just after breakfast, and she had prepared the blankets and got in bed around noon. According to the medical book Impa left her, delivery should have occurred by now. She began to worry that something was wrong.

"I take it back, honey, I'm sorry, please come out... Please!"

Zelda pushed again, but was too tired to continue. She laid on her side and started crying, just as the door flew open.

"Zelda!" Impa rushed in, having heard Zelda's cries from outside the cottage. She came over to the bedside and wiped Zelda's forehead. "For how long?"

"Noon," she replied hazily, cut off by another strong contraction. She tried to sit back up, but Impa stopped her.

"No, _Shahzadi_. Stay like that, it will help your pain." Impa held up Zelda's leg and examined the birth canal, just as Zelda let out a sharp cry.

"It feels like burning... Ohh, please stop..."

"You are crowning Zelda, it will be over soon. It's important that you don't push-"

"I have to!"

"No you don't. Give me your hand," Impa said, and guided Zelda's fingers between her legs. "There she is, Zelda. Take short, steady breaths, and let your next contraction do the work."

Zelda complied, and her next contraction brought the baby's head out. One more, and the hard part was over. Impa grabbed a nearby towel and wrapped the newborn, then handed her to Zelda. "Mommy, meet your little girl."

"Hello sweetie," Zelda said with a teary smile, and ran her fingers over the soft orange hair on her daughter's head. The baby cried for a bit until Zelda nuzzled her closer. "Praise the goddesses for looking out for you."

Impa severed the umbilical cord and collected the placenta, while Zelda gave her daughter her first feeding. After cleaning everything up, Impa sat beside Zelda and wiped the sweat from her forehead. "Sorry I wasn't here sooner."

"You're both about a week early," Zelda joked. "Thank you..."

"I had a feeling that you might need me earlier, so I found an excuse to leave the castle early," Impa explained. "I can stay to help for about a week and a half."

The news made Zelda happy, and she cradled her newborn. "You look a lot like your Papa, little baby."

"Have you decided on a name?"

"Beautiful baby," Zelda mumbled, having missed Impa's question. "My little baby..."

"Baby, huh? Cute."

Zelda gave Impa a curious glance. She had a few names in mind, like Dinae, Nayin, Farori, and Timea, but when she looked back to the infant cuddling against her, all she could think about was this tiny baby. A baby that shared both her and Ganondorf's features, from her pointy Hylian ears to her beautiful golden desert eyes.

"My adorable, sweet Baby..."


	13. Unfortunate Side Effect

After a few days' rest, Zelda felt recovered enough to walk around the house. Baby was small and needed Zelda's warmth, and would cry whenever she wasn't held, so Impa made a sling that Zelda could wear as she did her chores.

"She's not a very curious baby," Impa commented while showing Zelda how to change a nappy. "Most children I've seen enjoy seeking out things in their environment. Baby doesn't even look at the mobile above her cradle."

"You noticed it, too? Maybe she's just overwhelmed, after all she was born a little early." Zelda cooed at her daughter, making her babble back and clutch at Zelda's hair. "You just want to rest, don't you little pumpkin?"

As time went on, Zelda started to worry that something was wrong. Baby would cry whenever Zelda put her down, even if she was standing next to the cradle. She wouldn't latch unless Zelda expressed a bit of milk first. Most startling was that Baby wouldn't look at Zelda when she held her face to face. By the time Baby was three months old, Zelda had come to a realization- her child was blind.

Impa's next visit came about five months after Baby's birth. When she arrived, she realized something was wrong when Zelda stared at her with watery eyes.

"Baby can't see anything," she mumbled as rocked the infant in her arms. "I think it was because of the poisoning. I'm a terrible mother to have done this to her..."

"Absurd," Impa scolded. "You created a child, offered your life for hers when disaster struck, and safely delivered her into the world. You are an excellent mother. It was the goddesses' will that Baby survive, so we must not be discouraged about her loss of sight."

"But how am I going to break it to Ganondorf?" Zelda cried. "At first I was afraid he'd be angry that I got pregnant right away. When Baby was born and resembled him I thought he might be happy to know about her, but now that she's blind I'm afraid he'll look down on her. I can't put her through that!"

Zelda sat on the couch shaking, until Impa wrapped her arms around her shoulders. "Perhaps the best course of action is to remain here, without telling him," she suggested. "This forest is quiet, and protected by the forest spirits. You have what you need to survive, and Baby will be feeding from your breast for about a year. If we start a garden in the spring, you will have what you need by the time she weans. Life will be peaceful, and you needn't worry about anyone harming you."

Baby cooed, making Zelda smile. "I wish I was like you, pumpkin. Nothing bothers you, does it... Impa, do you think we will be alright here? What if there is an emergency? What if the crops do not yield?"

"It will be okay," Impa reassured her. "I found a fairy spring just outside the tunnel, that you may utilize in an emergency. The village of Ordon is also close. I will teach you how to disguise yourself as a Sheikah, should you need to gather supplies in my absence. You and Baby will have a happy, quiet life here."

"I always wanted a simpler life than that of a princess," Zelda admitted, while Baby babbled and laughed as she tickled her foot. "Maybe this is the best course of action. Though I hope one day we won't have to hide..."


	14. From Cloud Nine to Hell

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a sad chapter... :(

For the first time in a long while, the Gerudo had a bountiful harvest. Every able hand took part, including a rather upbeat king.

"Aveil, this is great! Not only have I met a Zelda who isn't afraid of me, but she actually loves me back! As soon as all the crops are gathered, I'm going to march straight back to Hyrule and ask her to marry me!"

Aveil, high general of the Gerudo and second in command, rolled her eyes at her king's joyful outbursts. She'd been hearing them ever since he came back from caste town two months ago. The same age as Princess Zelda, Aveil was royalty in her own right. She proved herself to be a top strategist despite her youth, and Ganondorf discovered she was actually his great granddaughter from a previous incarnation. He appointed her as his high general right away.

"Normally I would say 'how can you want to marry someone you just met', but in this case that would be moot," Aveil answered as she filled her basket. "So instead I'll say 'how can you hope to marry the princess of Hyrule when we are at war with them?'"

"I'll find a way. Maybe this will be the edge we need to stop the conflict. I mean, the two of us could-"

"MY LORD!"

A messenger came running toward Ganondorf and Aveil, out of breath and clutching a Castle Town newspaper in her hand. Aveil tried to calm her enough to speak, but the messenger only managed to shove the paper into the general's hand. When Aveil looked at the headline, she gasped.

"This can not be!"

Ganondorf reached for the paper to see what the fuss was about, but Aveil quickly hid it behind her back. "No, sire, it is nothing. Hylian propaganda to stir us up, I will investigate it."

"Hand over the paper, Aveil. This poor girl would not have exhausted herself for a false alarm."

Aveil cringed, but held out the paper in her hand. As soon as Ganondorf took it, she braced herself for a terrible reaction. But when Ganondorf saw the headline, he was quiet. Too quiet...

"Ready my horse," he snapped in a dark, foreboding voice, letting the paper fall to the ground. It made Aveil shiver, and for a second she thought his right hand was glowing.

"Sir?"

"I will _not_ repeat myself."

"Aye." Aveil and the messenger ran for the stables, leaving Ganondorf staring at the ground. His breathing got heavier, and ominous black clouds permeated the sky above the territory. As he walked toward his approaching horse, thunder cracked and rain began to fall. Left behind was the newspaper, which started to blur and dissolve leaving nothing but the headline readable.

_Princess Zelda Murdered By The Gerudo_

* * *

Ganondorf cracked the horse's reigns as he sped through Hyrule Field, desperate to find out what had happened. There was no way any Gerudo would harm the princess- since the majority of enemy soldiers were historically men, their code forbade them from harming innocent women and children during war. The Gerudo were also heavily religious, and believed that Zelda was the reincarnated form of the mother of the Goddess of the Sand.

The only thing Ganondorf could think of was that the royal advisors Zelda feared had orchestrated her demise. There was a faint ache in his soul, though it was not as strong as how he felt when the previous Zelda died, so perhaps there was hope. He just had to get to Castle Town and find out the truth.

Castle Town came upon the horizon just as the sun set. Ganondorf leapt from his horse and ran to the gate, encountering two soldiers on patrol. Normally the gates in each direction were opened, but this time they were bolted tightly shut. One of the two guards saw Ganondorf and drew his blade, but his elder partner told him to back down. Turning to Ganondorf, he yelled, "Return, you are not welcome here."

"You will let me pass," Ganondorf hissed, angry that they dare draw a weapon on him. "I am not in the mood to play games."

"I am sorry Lord Ganondorf, but by the King's orders, no outsiders allowed until further notice," the senior guard announced. 'Outsider' was a well known epithet for Gerudo, and while being called such made Ganondorf's blood boil, it did not bother him as much as being called by name.

"You know who I am, so you must know why I am here. I demand you let me see her! Let me see Zelda!" Rage accented his words, and the guards could almost visualize it.

The senior guard sighed, and took off his helmet in respect. "You probably don't remember me, but I was stationed in North when you came to the castle the first time. I watched one of the other guards stab you, and I expected you to blow up on him. But you didn't. Then I watched you dive after and catch the princess from falling off the rampart. You didn't behave like some barbarian, you behaved like a gentleman. That's the complete opposite of how the propaganda describes you."

The guard could tell Ganondorf was losing his patience, so he got to the point. "I'm sorry Lord Ganondorf, but... the little princess is gone. I saw her coffin myself..."

Ganondorf shouted in rage and grabbed the guard by the collar.

"I-I'm sorry, s-sir, but it really was her," the guard stammered as the Gerudo nearly choked him. "She has a little mole under her one eye, right? Just like Queen Iriana did? I know it wasn't you who killed her, none of us believe that!"

The words had intrigued Ganondorf. Taking deep breaths in order to focus his anger, he dropped the guard. "Speak."

The guard straightened himself up and rubbed his neck. "Only the younger guards buy that garbage," he said, glancing back at his partner who was leaning against the gate. "I've been a guard for twenty five years, and not once has a Gerudo done anything worse than petty theft. Most of us realize the war is a ploy, but there is nothing we can do. If we speak up we lose our job, and I've got six kids to feed. I'm sorry, but I just can't let you in the city, sir. They fired General Impa, they'll fire me."

Ganondorf scoffed. " _Impa_ was fired."

The guard tensed. "Yeah... There's a rumor going around that she murdered a royal advisor in favor of all out war, and as punishment they took her off duty. No one's seen her since the funeral."

The word 'funeral' made Ganondorf's heart ache. He sighed and grabbed his forehead. "...Where is she?"

"In the royal cemetery next to Queen Iriana."

Ganondorf stayed silent. He wanted nothing more than to set the castle ablaze, to take the scalps of the royal council and stack them on a pike. But he knew that was the last thing Zelda would want him to do. She wanted to end suffering in Hyrule, and the best thing he could do for her would be to continue his attempts for peace.

* * *

After a day of anxious pacing, Aveil finally saw her king along the path back to Gerudo Valley. She hastily ran to greet him, but stopped when she saw his face. His golden eyes were bloodshot, his eyelids dark, and there were worry lines across his brow. He dismounted his horse and stood before her, not as the proud and fierce Gerudo king but as a man worn thin from his emotions.

"I'm sorry," she said after connecting the dots, and hugged Ganondorf. He stood still for a moment, before returning the gesture. He gave Aveil a little smile, before letting go and heading back to his chambers. When Aveil went to check on Ganondorf the next morning, she found every piece of furniture in his chambers destroyed, and her king curled up on the overturned mattress. She left a breakfast tray near the ruins of the table, and closed the curtains so that he may sleep in peace.

End of Part One


	15. Part Two: The Little Gerudo Child

Ganondorf cursed to himself, for as usual the trip to Hyrule Castle was a waste. He tried to make peace with the Hylians in Zelda's honor, but like always the king of Hyrule only wanted surrender. The only thing that kept the two from all out war was the neutral province of Ordona, which stood between the two kings' territories. Hyrule depended on the province's food exports and could not jeopardize their relationship; conversely the Gerudo relied on Ordonian boys for mates and the forest was one of Ganondorf's favorite places so it would never be attacked.

The king and his general Aveil were just passing said forest on the way back to Gerudo Valley, when a scuffle in the distance caught their eyes. Thinking it was only wild animals, Ganondorf was about to waive them onward when he heard a child's shriek.

"That's a Gerudo child!" Aveil screamed, as her king took off toward the fight. Ganondorf dove off his horse, tackling one of the two lizalfos surrounding the girl and plunging his dagger into its neck. The other lizalfos grabbed the girl to use as a shield, though it backfired when she bit down hard on its arm. The creature dropped her with a growl.

"Child, get down!"

The little girl cowered, giving Ganondorf an opening to slash at the lizalfos. He drove his blade into its flesh, and it fell with ease. Satisfied with the rescue, Ganondorf knelt in front of the girl. She was a small Gerudo, no more than five or six years old, wearing a tattered dress. She had light red hair, in little pigtails above long pointed ears. "Are you injured, child?"

She made no response, and buried her head between her knees. When Ganondorf laid his hand on her shoulder, she shrieked and backed away.

"It's all right, I won't harm you. Just let me see if you are okay," he said again, though this time she began whimpering.

"... sniff... Mama... help me..."

Ganondorf raised his eyebrow at her words. The child spoke not in the tongue of his people, but rather in the tongue of the Hylians. He sighed and tried again in Hylian, this time receiving a response. "Little one, I am here to help you. Come closer."

The girl picked her head up and sniffed. "S-someone's there...?"

Then he saw it- her eyes were a beautiful golden color like his own, but they did not focus on anything. He received no reaction when he beckoned her forward, nor when he waved a hand in front of her face. Putting the pieces together, he realized she was blind.

Little Baby shivered as she sat on the ground. First, those monsters dragged her away from the forest path, then a bigger monster with a strange cry came and silenced the first two. And now it was trying to eat her. She couldn't help but cry for her mother to save her.

"Little one, I am here to help you. Come closer."

Baby picked her head up. "S-someone's there...? Is... is the monster gone?"

"There are no more monsters, pet, I've gotten them all. Will you come here so I can make sure you are unhurt?"

After a few deep breaths, Baby got to her feet. There were several confusing noises around her, so she headed towards the voice. She held her hand out until she touched something warm and soft, but pulled back in embarrassment when she realized it was the person's face.

"Heh, don't be afraid," Ganondorf chuckled as he removed his headdress and crown. "Come on, try again, I have no problem with you finding out how I look." This was an excuse to study the strange child. She appeared to have no serious injuries, just a few scrapes. When she came closer he could see more of her golden eyes, and how lovely her nose and cheeks were. With a cute little mole under her eye and long Hylian ears, she was truly adorable. _This child's father had to be Hylian instead of Ordonian_ , he thought. _Perhaps he was the reason she does not speak her people's language._

Despite the situation, Baby felt the stranger's face with enthusiasm. After all, she had never met anyone besides her mother and her nanny. After a few minutes of tracing the hair around Ganondorf's face, she paused. "Um..."

"You have something to ask?"

"Are you a... boy?"

The question stunned Ganondorf. "Yes, of course I am! Why do you ask such a silly question?"

Baby lowered her head, as if she did something wrong. "Well, Mama told me about boys and all, but I've never met one. She said they have deeper voices than us, they're taller and stronger, some of them have hair around their chins, and that they help plant the seed that grows into a baby in a mommy's tummy. But um... I can tell it's night time soon so I need to go home. Can you help me get back to the forest?"

Ganondorf chuckled at her definition of a man, but was impressed with how she could tell it was dusk. "Would you like me to take you home? I'll be sure you get there safely."

Baby shook her head. "Oh no, Mama will get sad if you follow me home. She told me that it's okay if I ever meet a stranger but I can't let them find out where we live or we'll get hurt."

"Your Mama is smart," Ganondorf replied. He knew far too many Gerudo mothers who were chased out of their homes by paranoid villagers. "How about this- there's a spring near the edge of the forest, I'll take you there instead. What's your name?"

"Mama said-"

"'Don't give out your name', right?" he finished for her with a shrug. "How about I just call you Pumpkin?"

"Sure, Mama calls me that sometimes! And I can call you Mr. Hero!"

"All right Pumpkin, wait here while I tell my friend where I'm going," Ganondorf said with a smile. He motioned for Aveil, and spoke with her in their native language.

A mother herself, Aveil was worried for Baby's health. "The girl, how is she? Is she hurt at all?"

"Not at all. She's a very unusual child," he began. "She is blind, and she has the features of a Hylian."

Aveil snorted. "Her mum must be a damn good negotiator to nab someone like that. Wish I had slept with one of them instead of my corn-poke rancher boy. Where is her mum anyway?"

"In the forest, I assume," he answered. "The poor girl is very sheltered. Doesn't speak our language, never met a man before, and fears strangers finding their home. But she had the courage to fight back against those lizalfos, and that's a quality any parent could be proud of."

"Courage can be found in the strangest places," Aveil remarked. "I will continue on ahead."

Ganondorf nodded, then picked Baby up and whistled for his horse. "Pumpkin, have you ever ridden a horse before?"

"Yes, Mama has a pony named Nali."

"Good. Then this will not startle you." Ganondorf mounted his horse as Baby gripped his neck, and they set off toward the spring. Upon arrival, Ganondorf watched as Baby crouched down on a small footbridge over the water. She ran her hands along the edge of the wood until she found a series of notches.

Baby smiled and stood up. "Okie, we're facing south. I can get home from here. Thank you Mr. Hero!"

"Wait, Pumpkin," Ganondorf said, and handed her a small whistle from his belt. "If you ever get lost or in trouble again, use this whistle. If I'm near, I'll aid you."

Baby blushed and took the gift. "Thank you, Mr. Hero. I'll use it if I want to see you again. Bye bye!" The little girl curtsied, and took off for home.

As Ganondorf watched her disappear into the forest, he couldn't help but sigh. "If only I were to be blessed with a child like that..."


	16. Mama Bear

Zelda paced around the cottage, chewing her nails. Half of her wanted to go out and search for Baby, but the other half knew she needed to trust her little girl. Baby was almost seven years old now, after all, and she was tough. But then again, she was blind and on her own. What if she stumbled over a ledge, or into a wolfos den?

Mind made up, Zelda grabbed her shawl and was reaching for a dagger hidden under the table, when the door opened.

"Mama, I'm ba-"

Baby was cut off as Zelda grabbed her and held her tight. "Oh, Baby, sweetie, I was so worried when you didn't come back at sundown! My baby, are you okay? Did you fall somewhere? Oh! What are these scrapes on your arms?! I'm so sorry I left you alone today..."

"It's okay Mama, you were out gatherin' foods for us," Baby said once Zelda stopped smothering her with kisses. "I did get lost, but someone helped me."

"What?! How did you get lost? Who helped you? Did they hurt you?"

"No no no! The monsters scratched me. Mr. Hero got rid of them and brought me back to the spring." Zelda went white as Baby explained how she got dragged from her play spot and into the field, and how the stranger came to her rescue. "I thought the monsters were gunna eat me, but then Mr. Hero showed up and got them. At first I thought he was a monster too, but then he talked to me and told me they were all gone."

"'Mr. Hero'? You mean a man found you?! What kind of man was he? Did he make you do anything you didn't want to?"

"He was nice. He let me feel his face, and said you were a smart lady for telling me to keep my name and our house a secret. He let me ride his horse with him back to the spring, and gave me this whistle in case I ever need help again."

Zelda cocked her head, thinking back to the legends she read as a child. _A nice man, who rescues little girls, fights monsters, rides a horse, and comes to your aid when you call him..._ "Baby, was his name Link?"

Baby fiddled with her whistle. "I dunno... I guess I never asked him. But he had a friend, I think it was a girl. They talked with different sounds than we talk. Then the friend got on a horse and went away from us, probably back to where they live. But I listened after Mr. Hero dropped me at the spring to make sure he left, and took the long way back. Nobuddy followed me."

"Oh Baby, I'm not worried about that," Zelda said as she hugged her daughter again. "I'm just glad you are safe. I guess if you see your Hero again, you can give him my thanks. Now come on, let's clean you up and wash out those scratches."

"Okie!"

* * *

Zelda sat next to the bed, watching Baby sleep. Maybe it was fate that she got saved by a stranger. After all, living alone in the forest all her life would be a terrible burden to bear...

"Perhaps we should take a trip to Gerudo Valley," she mumbled, smoothing Baby's hair. "They wouldn't mistreat you like the Hylians or Ordonians would... I know I shouldn't continue being so selfish, but I really fear how _he_ would react knowing I kept you away all these years... If I pick a village near the outskirts, _he_ wouldn't be around... Then again, they'll all want to know how a Hylian ended up with a Gerudo child, and I could never lie about you. You're my Baby..." She sighed and laid her head on the bed. "I used to think I was gifted with wisdom, and yet I have no answers..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I imagine Zelda to be the type of overprotective mommy that smothers her baby when she gets hurt. Ganondorf may be Papa Boar, but she's Mama Bear and has sharper teeth. :3


	17. Papa Boar

Ganondorf paced back and forth in his strategy room. "I won't stand for it any longer. That poor cherub and her mother have to live in hiding because our kind are treated like dirt! That fascist bastard Hylian king is finally going to feel the wrath of a Gerudo warrior!"

Aveil looked up from feeding her young child. "...Did you seriously just call that kid a cherub? Geez, we better not let any of the others find out Kingy has a soft spot," she joked. "Neera, don't bite mummy. Anyway, m'lord, what are you planning to do? We've been in a stalemate for going on seven years. The younger girls aren't fully trained, we're short on supplies for weapons, and half of the flag officers _including myself_ are still in our maternity period. I have my farmboy husband Fado to help me with Neera, but the others aren't so lucky."

"I would never expect a new mother to fight," he replied. "You insisted I bring you on this latest excursion because you had cabin fever, remember? At least I have Power on my side. Courage has yet to surface in this lifetime, and Wisdom... Wisdom has been lost."

Aveil sensed Ganondorf's drop in mood, and came over to comfort him. "Hey, don't get all blue on me, Big Brother. Let's think of your little cherub instead! You gave her that whistle so she could contact you, so you clearly want to see her again. Why not get to know her, since you seem ready to fight a war for her prosperity."

Ganondorf raised an eyebrow. He did want to see her again. Something about the courageous little girl spoke to his heart, and as the king of the Gerudo he felt responsible for her wellbeing. "Perhaps I should support her... I can't see a Hylian coming this far from Castle Town to provide for her and her mother, and it's clear he doesn't care since she's never met a man before me."

"I've never seen the kid before, nor do I know of any girls with blind children," Aveil said. "Usually I excuse them from military duty if their children have special needs, and total blindness is uncommon. The mother may very well be in hiding because of the girl's condition. I'll bet the child resembles her father very much, and he might be angry or disappointed in her disability."

"Such bullshit," Ganondorf scoffed. "Abandoning that precious angel over something so trivial... Don't those Hylians know their matron goddess is blind as well? Aveil, I've made up my mind. I will go to that clearing, every day if I have to, and make sure that little girl is not harmed."

"You've never been this enthusiastic about a cause before," Aveil commented. "Finally feeling like a responsible king?"

"Very funny, Aveil. No, I don't feel drawn to her as a king. I can't explain it; it's almost like the feeling I got when I met _her_ for the first time in this life. Something tells me this little girl is important. I wonder... could she be...?"

Aveil caught on, but shook her head. "Courage? That's a stretch. Courage has never presented itself as a member of our tribe. Ordonians, Hylians, and even the Sheikah have hosted it in the past. Our people don't represent Courage as well as they do. We only ever represent Power."

"But think, what could be more courageous than a sightless child born between warring races?" Ganondorf smiled and moved to his desk, then started making a supply inventory. "Courage or not, the little Pumpkin needs our help. At the very least, I will make sure her and her mother do not go hungry."

"Spoken like a true grandfather," Aveil teased, earning a nasty glare. "Say, I wonder why the kid doesn't speak our language? I could see why if the father were with them, but you said she didn't know what a male was..."

"If I had to guess, it would be a survival tactic," he replied. "They are in Ordona territory, after all. Now, what size clothing do you suppose she wears...?"


	18. We Named the Pig Nabs

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (I hope at least some of you get the title reference...)

"Hey, Nabs, slow down! Bad piggy!"

Baby hobbled through the forest, led along by her truffle sniffing pig Nabs. Truffles were a good source of income for the little family, as Zelda would disguise herself and sell them in Ordon Village. Unfortunately, it was getting harder to find the buried mushrooms near the cottage. Baby was scared to go too far out on her own since being dragged away, but she knew Zelda was busy doing everything she could to gather food and clothing for the coming winter. So Baby put her fear aside and headed out.

Nabs led Baby to a patch of trees just beyond the footbridge over the stream, and started rooting. Baby took that as a cue to start digging. She was in up to her elbows when she heard something approaching, and started to freak out.

"Nabs, run! Run away quick! A monster's coming! Save yourself!"

The 'monster' emerged from the trees, and laughed at the sight of a little girl shooing away a pig. "I'm not a monster, Pumpkin. And I certainly won't eat you or your piggy."

Ganondorf had been taking a stroll through the forest in hopes of meeting Baby again, and overheard the sound of a pig sniffing for crops. He knew he found who he was looking for when he heard her ordering the pig to safety.

"Mr. Hero, you're here!" Baby shook the dirt off her arms and felt around for him, though he saved her the trouble by hoisting her onto his shoulder. "Oh, thank you thank you thank you for saving me last time! Mama says thank you, too!"

"It was my pleasure, little Pumpkin," he replied with a chuckle. "Why are you digging around trees, especially ones so far from your home? I wouldn't want you to get hurt again."

"Nabs and I was looking for truffles. Mama takes them and turns them into clothes and food when she sneaks into the village," she explained. "I'm helping Mama because it's gonna get cold soon, and we don't have enough to eat."

That made Ganondorf frown. There was no way this family would starve, if he could help it. "I see. But there aren't many truffles out this far, these trees aren't as nurtured as the ones inside the deep forest. Here, have lunch with me and I'll see if I can help you find more truffles."

Baby's stomach grumbled as if on cue, so Ganondorf sat her down and withdrew a sandwich from his pack. "Give me your hands, little truffle huntress," he said, and rinsed them with his canteen before giving her the entire sandwich.

"Hey, this is a big sandwich," she declared after examining it. "Aren't we supposed to cut sandwiches in half and share them? That's what Mama always does."

"It's all yours. I have another one," he lied.

"Yay! Mmm, yummy..." Baby chomped away like she had never eaten before, and it made Ganondorf sad. He dug around in his pack and produced some pouches of nuts, a bottle of herbal tea, and a pack of crackers.

"Pumpkin, take these snacks back home to your mother," Ganondorf said as he placed them in her empty truffle basket. "I have extra."

Baby hummed, mouth full of sandwich. Nabs realized eventually that Baby had food, and came over demanding she share. "No, Nabs, mine!"

Ganondorf was fascinated by the scene in front of him. The pig kept nudging Baby for part of her food, and Baby kept turning away. Finally, when it was clear the pig wouldn't give up, Baby climbed up and finished her lunch while sitting on the pig's back. The pig then let out a defeated snort.

"The two of you are awfully close..." he commented.

The little girl bobbed her head, sending crumbs everywhere. "Mama brought Nabs home cause she was gonna plump her up and cook her. But one day I was playing near the pig pen and she came up to me and rubbed her nose against my belly so I let her out. She's a smart piggy, she can find truffles and plays rooting with me. So Mama's not gonna cook her anymore."

Ganondorf listened to Baby go on about her playtime with Nabs, how she helps around the house, and how she is learning to play the lyre. He was surprised as the lyre was one of his favorite instruments, and their conversation turned to music. She hummed a bit of her favorite song, The Ballad of the Wind Fish, and even offered to play for him sometime. They continued their conversation until the sun started to set, as that was Baby's cue to return to the cottage.

"Pumpkin, before you go home, I have something for you. Here," he said as he placed a pair of silver rupees into her hands. "Give those to your Mama."

Baby rolled the rupees in her hands, then struck them together and marveled at the sound they made. "These are moneys, right? I sometimes find them in grass. Mama said there are seven different kinds of moneys, and that you can only tell them apart by their colors. But I don't know what colors are..."

Ganondorf looked at her pouting face, and scratched his beard. "Well, think of it this way. The three most common rupees, green, blue, and red, are just like grass, water, and fire. Grass is everywhere, so it is the single rupee. Water is everywhere, but not as much as the grass, so it is five rupees. And fire is important and must be respected. So it is the twenty rupee stone. There are also yellow, purple, gold, and silver rupees."

After feeling the rupees over a few more times, Baby held her hands back out. "Mama said I should never ask someone for moneys no matter how hungry we get because we don't want to be a burden. You should take them back."

The gesture made Ganondorf smile. He had a feeling Baby's mother would raise her to be selfless. "No, keep them," he said as he slid them into her basket. "It is not a burden to give them to you, and I can always get more. Now run along home before it gets dark. Nights are growing colder, and I don't want any frozen piggies or Pumpkins out here."

"Okie!" Baby stood up, and grabbed her basket. "C'mon Nabs, let's go home. Bye Mr. Hero! I'll come play again sometime!"

"Anytime, Pumpkin." He watched Baby make her way back to the footbridge and feel for the notches that pointed her in the right direction. When she was out of sight, he scanned the area for signs of monsters. Satisfied that there were none, he drew a ward mark on the ground.

"That ought to keep you and your mother safe, Pumpkin..."


	19. Trouble

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry to interrupt, but I have a small request. To anyone who follows my Mario fic "The Green Princess", I'd like some input. I was thinking how to continue, and have two ideas. The first is to keep going down the fluffy path. The second is to bring back Fawful, and though this idea would go down a rougher and at times sadder path, it would be longer and have a happy ending. I just feel bad about hurting Bowser's feelings. Feel free to message me your suggestions! :3

Over the next few weeks, Ganondorf continued to meet with Baby near the footbridge. He brought her clean clothes, food, and even some toys. She loved to share her imagination with him, and would talk for hours about her creations. A few times said creations were songs, which she played on her miniature lyre. Occasionally they would go truffle hunting together, though Ganondorf found more clods of dirt than truffles. Baby even told Ganondorf about her mother, and how she appreciated all his presents (except the rupees, which almost gave her a heart attack).

Ganondorf was lying in the grass on the edge of the forest, contemplating his next gift for the curious little girl, when he heard a commotion and a familiar whistle.

"Mr. Hero, Mr. Hero! Please help, please!"

He bolted up from his lounging as soon as he heard Baby's cries. "Pumpkin?! What's wrong?"

Baby came running out of the trees, tripping over stones and brush until Ganondorf caught her. Tears were streaming down her face. "Mama, Mama's sick and won't wake up when I call to her! Please help her, I don't want Mama to die!"

He wasted no time, scooping Baby and his pack up and running into the forest. "Tell me where to go, quickly!"

"The... the spring, at the end there's a fairy pool near the waterfall. When you get close, on the left there's a tunnel in some rocks covered with plants. Our house is on the other side."

Ganondorf found the tunnel in no time, and ducked through to the small glade. Baby jumped down from his arms when she sensed her home, and ran into the house.

"Mama, Mama! It will be okay, just hang on!" Baby said as she grabbed Zelda's clammy hand. "Mr. Hero, over here!" Baby suddenly jumped when she heard something hit the floor, and noticed Ganondorf breathing heavier. Scared, she crawled onto the bed with her mother. "Mr... Hero...?"

Ganondorf dropped his pack the second he saw Baby's mother on the bed. He had to rub his eyes to ensure he was seeing things clearly, because there, right in front of him, was the only woman he had ever truly loved. The woman his people had been wrongly accused of murdering was alive, and not only that, she was the mother of a very bright and courageous little girl. A _Gerudo_ little girl. He was right when he supposed that Baby had a Hylian parent, but he had never imagined it would be the mother. And that meant the Gerudo was Baby's father...

Putting his overwhelming emotions on the backburner, Ganondorf rushed to the side of the bed and touched her forehead. "Zelda, Zelda can you hear me?"

"How do you know Mama's name?" Baby asked him, but he gave no answer. She listened closely as he dug in is pack. He eventually pulled out a vial of potion, a pack of leaves, and a grinding stone.

"Pumpkin, do you know the difference between a mushroom and a toadstool?"

Baby hummed. "Toadstools have bumpy tops and are poisonous. Mushrooms have round tops and are okay to eat. Mama grows mushrooms in her garden near the piggy pen so Nabs knows what to sniff for."

"Good, fetch me some," he ordered as he broke the leaves. A green sap oozed out, and he rubbed it along Zelda's forehead to cool her. Baby got down from the bed and went out to the garden, as Ganondorf poured the vial down Zelda's throat. She soon came back with the mushrooms, which the king began crushing with the stone. "Thank you, baby."

"Wha... you know my name, too? Since when? Are you magic?"

Ganondorf looked up from his work with a grin. "Your name is Baby? Such an adorable name for an adorable girl..." He ruffled her hair, then turned back to his work. After grinding the mushrooms and leaves into a paste, he applied it to Zelda's neck.

Satisfied with his efforts, Ganondorf sat against the bed and pulled Baby into his lap. "Your Mama will be fine. The gel will cool her fever, and the poultice will draw the sickness out of her body. You did the right thing by bringing me here, little Pumpkin."

Baby leaned against Ganondorf, comforted by a gentle back rub. "Mama's been sick the last few days. She had me play outside a lot so I wouldn't catch it, and then this morning she wouldn't get out of bed. She was awake when I got up, but when I came back in for lunch she was asleep and wouldn't wake up."

Ganondorf wiped away the tears that had slid down Baby's cheeks. "Don't worry, your Mama is a very strong woman. She wouldn't let something like this take her away from you."

Baby cooed in response. Exhausted from the day's events, she let Ganondorf lull her to sleep. She snuggled against him as he rubbed her back. He kept at it, and before long he was quietly laughing to himself.

"Heh. Heh heh. Alive... she's alive..." Ganondorf then looked from Zelda to the child sleeping in his lap. He laid his cheek atop her head, and as he closed his eyes he whispered, "Baby... Oh how silly of me not to notice how much you resemble her. My resilient little Pumpkin..."


	20. Breakfast

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is actually part of the last chapter, I forgot to select it when I was pasting the sections! :s

Ganondorf woke up around dawn, with a cramp in his neck from sleeping against the bed. But he forgot the pain, when he looked down and found Baby had laced their fingers together in her sleep. He couldn't help kissing her forehead.

He carefully scooped Baby up and laid her on the bed beside her mother, tucked her in, then checked Zelda's condition. Her fever had subsided, and her skin no longer felt clammy. Ganondorf cleaned the poultice from Zelda's neck, then retreated to the kitchen to make broth.

Baby woke up a few hours later, attracted by the sweet smell of Ganondorf's cooking. She realized she was in bed with her mother, and tried her best to crawl out without disturbing Zelda. She nearly tripped on Ganondorf's pack at the foot of the bed, but made it out to the kitchen as quiet as a mouse.

Ganondorf noticed the sleepy girl in the doorway, and called her over with a grin. "Did you sleep well, my child?"

"Yup!" she answered as she toddled over to him. "Whatcha making? It smells good..."

"It's broth to help your Mama gain her strength back. Where I come from, we always give it to the girls who collapse from the heat. It has lots of nutrients and is easy on the stomach."

As Baby continued sniffing the broth, she unconsciously licked her lips. "Um..."

"Yes, of course you may have some."

"Yay!" Baby hugged Ganondorf, then went over and plopped down at the table. "Are you gonna eat some too? You can sit beside me!"

"Aye aye, my princess," he joked, placing two bowls on the table. "Shall I make some rice to go with it?"

Baby's face lit up at the suggestion. "We can have rice and soup at the same time?! Wow! Mama usually saves the rice until dinner since we don't have a lot to eat."

_That's about to change,_ Ganondorf thought to himself. "I have a bag of my hometown's rice in my pack that I will make for you. If your Mama is feeling well later, she can have some too."

Baby slurped away as Ganondorf went to check on Zelda. Her breathing was normal, and he expected her to wake within the next few hours. He pressed a gentle kiss to her cheek, then gathered the rice and a hairbrush from his pack and returned to the kitchen. Baby had finished her bowl and was stealthily reaching for Ganondorf's, causing the Gerudo to erupt with laughter. "Oh child, you need only ask for more if you are still hungry."

Ganondorf quickly prepared the rice, then refilled Baby's bowl and sat beside her to eat his own meal. Baby was so hungry that she practically inhaled her food.

"You have a healthy appetite, little Pumpkin."

"Mama says that I'd eat the whole house if she let me. She says I got it from my Papa."

Ganondorf was intrigued. He pulled out the brush, and started brushing Baby's hair as he spoke. "You've never mentioned your Papa before..."

Baby happily bobbed back and forth while he brushed her hair. "Mama says he's a great man, who loves us both very much. He's big and strong and handsome and very smart."

He thought it over, then decided it was safe to ask. "Why doesn't your Papa live with you?"

Baby bowed her head. "I dunno. Maybe if I wasn't blind..."

Ganondorf dropped the brush with a start. He turned Baby's chair to face him and lifted her head up. "Baby, honey, listen to me. I never want to hear you say something like that ever again, do you understand? There is _nothing_ wrong with you. You are a perfect little girl, made in Nayru's image, with all the strength of Din and the courage of Farore. Your Mama and your Papa love you very much, and wouldn't want you any other way. You're our perfect little angel."

Baby didn't catch Ganondorf's little slip up, but was never the less cheered up by his words and hugged him in return. "You're really nice to me, Mr. Hero. I wish you were my Papa..."

Ganondorf smiled, but kept silent. He picked the brush back up and finished brushing Baby's hair, then tied it into a braid. "Go check on your Mama for me, Pumpkin."


	21. My Hero

Zelda came around slowly, remnants of a headache clouding her thoughts. She remembered sending Baby to play outside, then suddenly feeling overheated before everything went blank. Now she felt cooler, and it wasn't a struggle to stay awake.

Zelda opened her eyes, finding a surprised Baby snuggling under her arm. "Baby...? Oh, Baby, I'm sorry..." Zelda brushed back her daughter's bangs and kissed her forehead. "I'm so sorry you had to take care of me. I'm such a bad mother..."

Baby hugged Zelda with tears sliding down her cheeks. "Mama, you're okay! I was scared you wouldn't wake up. I was so scared..."

"I'm sorry for scaring you, sweetie. You're such a courageous little girl." Zelda slowly sat up and looked her baby over. After wiping away her tears, she noticed Baby's hair wasn't in its usual messy ponytail. It was elegantly braided, in a style that seemed slightly familiar. "Baby, who braided your hair?"

"Um, don't get mad... I didn't know what to do, so I had to ask Mr. Hero for help. He made you better, then he made me soup AND rice for breakfast, and then he brushed my hair for me! Isn't that nice? He made some soup for you, too."

"Your hero helped you?" Concerned, Zelda sat up and looked around the room. Everything was normal, maybe even a tad cleaner than she left it. There was a strange pack sitting on the floor next to the bed, but otherwise the house was as it should be. She heard a noise from the kitchen, and got a little nervous.

"Mama, I'll tell him you're up so he can heat your soup." Baby scrambled into the kitchen, while Zelda collected her thoughts. _Baby's hero really is the next Link, isn't he? It's okay, I just need to thank him for saving me. He's played with Baby this long, he must be a good guy and won't sell us out. Maybe I'm not even recognizable as the princess, after all it's been close to seven years and I'm not exactly seventeen anymore..._

Zelda took a few deep breaths before getting up and walking to the door. When she looked out into the kitchen, her heart stopped. Standing in front of the table with Baby in his arms, was the last person she expected to see in her cottage.

"Ganondorf...?"

He looked up from the table and made eye contact with her, causing her legs to buckle. Ganondorf was at her side in a flash, catching her with his free arm. "This is a fever dream," Zelda mumbled as she looked up at him. He simply smiled and shook his head.

"No, Zelda. This is a dream come true."

Ganondorf let Baby down, then wrapped his arms around Zelda's waist and hoisted her up into a kiss. They went until they could no longer breathe, and afterward Zelda buried her face in his neck and started sobbing. Ganondorf leaned back against the wall and lowered them to the floor, all the while rubbing Zelda's back.

He noticed the alarm on Baby's face when her mother started crying, so he whispered for her to come over. "It's okay, Baby, Mama's not crying because she's sad. Come here..." Baby came over and sat in his lap, and the king held both girls in his embrace.

Zelda's tears soon stopped, and she lifted her head. Her eyes were bloodshot and her face was red. She looked from Baby to Ganondorf, and made a small smile. "Hic... if I'd have known you were coming, I would have freshened up..."

"Yes, and next time make sure you wear appropriate clothing, otherwise our night will be wasted," he joked, tracing a finger down the neckline of her nightgown. Her smile grew, and she even playfully nudged him.

Baby listened to the couple's exchange, rather confused. She never heard her mother so elated before, and her hero was talking like he knew them. "Mama? Are you okay?"

"Baby, I have something to tell you," Zelda said when she saw the confusion on her daughter's face. "Your hero, well, he's my hero too. His name is Ganondorf, and... he's your Papa."

Baby jumped excitedly and clamped onto Ganondorf's neck, drawing an oof from him and a wide smile from Zelda.

"YAY! Papa Papa Papa Papa! I knew there was a reason I felt so happy around you Mr. Hero, uh, I mean Papa! Mama was right, you are big and strong and nice and handsome and smart and I love you!" Baby tucked her head under Ganondorf's chin and pecked at his collarbone.

"You two are going to make my neck sore if you keep that up," Ganondorf joked, before taking another kiss from Zelda. The girls then laughed as he suddenly stood with them in his arms and twirled them around the room.

* * *

"She's absolutely adorable," Ganondorf said as he and Zelda stood over Baby, asleep in her bed. "Her mother's beautiful features, soft warm hair, a lovely olive complexion... A true princess."

"She's resilient," Zelda added. "The goddesses must be looking out for her, otherwise she wouldn't have made it."

Ganondorf kissed Baby's forehead, then took Zelda's hand and led her back to the main room. They sat quietly on the couch for several minutes, with Ganondorf smoothing Zelda's hair as she listened to his heartbeat.

"I love her."

Zelda sat up and looked to Ganondorf, and he smiled back at her. "Baby. I love her. She's such a smart, beautiful little girl. It doesn't make a difference to me whether she can see or not. I wouldn't have blamed you for anything. You could have come to me, I'd have given you anything you needed. I loved you. I still love you. What happened to make you come here, to have a life where you have to choose between soup or rice for breakfast because there isn't enough for both? Please, Zelda, I have to know what I did wrong!"

"You did nothing wrong," Zelda admitted, and took a deep breath. "Do you remember how nervous I was when we parted ways?"

"Yes, you thought the advisors were having you followed as part of some scheme to control the line of succession. When they announced your death and blamed it on my kin, I knew it had to be true."

"About a month after you returned home, I discovered my pregnancy. I was thrilled but didn't know how to proceed, so I confided in Impa. Unfortunately, we were overheard. The advisors found out I was pregnant and told the king. They didn't know who the father was, but still, they ordered me to 'get rid of it'. I absolutely refused. Shortly after, I... I was poisoned. That is why Baby is blind."

Ganondorf's face boiled over with rage as Zelda continued. "I got so very sick, I couldn't move or eat at all. But the worst part was that I might lose the baby. I begged the goddesses to save her, even if it meant that I perish in her place. They heard my prayers and spared us. Impa brought me Sheikah medicine and helped me recover, and when we found out the baby was okay, Impa hunted down and slaughtered the man who poisoned me. That's how she discovered it was a covert attempt to terminate Baby."

"Remind me to send General Impa my gratitude."

"Yes, well... Since I survived, the king and the advisors decreed that if I would not terminate the pregnancy, they would strip me of my rank and disown me. They announced to the people that I had been killed in the war, while I was confined to the graveyard. Only the king and the advisors knew I still lived, and they threatened my and Baby's death if I revealed myself.

"Impa helped me escape the castle, but she was still sworn to the king and had to stay in his service. She was able to help me deliver Baby, and she visits us here from time to time whenever it won't raise suspicion. Apart from my own safety, I feared that if people found out I was alive and saw that my daughter was Gerudo, you and your people would be harmed.

"I considered going to you at first, but I was terribly frightened of how you would react to Baby. I was seventeen, pregnant, homeless, and scared out of my mind. I didn't have family to confide in because they wanted me dead. Impa helped when she could, but she was still under oath. She barely made it in time to help me give birth! I was frightened. I was frightened and I was alone..."

"You're not alone anymore," Ganondorf said as he hugged Zelda tightly and wiped away her tears. "I'm not letting you out of my sight again. Last time that happened, you disappeared and my people were accused of your murder."

"Ganondorf..."

"I mean it. I nearly razed the castle when you disappeared. I wanted answers, and they refused to give them to me. I wasn't even allowed to attend the funeral. Do you have any idea how infuriated I was that I couldn't even say goodbye? Just ask Aveil how much damage I did to the fortress. But now I have you back, as well as a daughter to look after. And I intend to start by making sure you get a good night's sleep right where I can keep an eye on you."

Zelda giggled as Ganondorf scooped her up and carried her into her bedroom. "H-hey, where are you going? I don't think someone recovering from a serious illness should be doing what you're thinking of- HEY PAWS OFF!"

Ganondorf laughed and removed his hands from Zelda's bottom, dropping down with her onto the bed. "Don't worry, recovery comes first. Though, in the mean time..." He lifted Zelda's head and pressed their lips together. She sighed and wrapped her arms around his neck, holding him to her until they both gasped for air.

"You kiss like a seventeen year old..."

"Well it's not like I've had a lot of men to practice with, now is it?"

Ganondorf smiled at her remark, and rolled onto his back. After tossing his shirt away, he tucked Zelda under his arm. "This will be the best sleep I've had in seven years."

Zelda grinned, remembering the last time she spent the night in Ganondorf's arms. "As I recall, you are quite the snuggler. Just like your daughter."

"And you like to hold hands while you sleep," Ganondorf said as he magicked the window closed. "Just like _our_ daughter."


	22. Dawn of a New Day

Ganondorf was aware of a dull sensation in his stomach as he dreamt, but kept pushing it to the back of his mind. He and Zelda were relaxing in the desert oasis, with an infant Baby sleeping in his arms. It was perfect, no one around to disturb them...

The sensation suddenly became an ache, enough for Ganondorf to end his dreams and open his eyes. He was prepared to unleash hell on whoever disturbed his peace, but got a pleasant surprise instead- it was Baby, who had been bouncing on his stomach to wake him.

"Papa, Papa, you sleep too much! It's time to get up! Geeeeet uuuuuup!" Baby stopped her bouncing once she sensed Ganondorf was awake, and touched their foreheads together. "Hey Papa, how come all those times I played with you, you never told me you were my Papa?"

Ganondorf arched his eyebrow. He wasn't expecting such a question, at least not right away. He glanced over at Zelda, still fast asleep under his arm, and tried to think how she would respond. As much as it made his heart ache to do so, he figured she would probably answer truthfully.

"Well, my little Baby... Before you were born, Mama and I lived far apart. We loved each other, but could not stay together. The goddesses gave you to Mama, so that she wouldn't be alone. They had you and Mama live here in secret, so you would be protected. The goddesses then waited until time was right, and led me to you. But I'm very thankful to them for keeping you safe until now. You and Mama are very important to me, and I love you both very much."

"Aww, I love you too, Papa!" Baby said after a hug. "The goddesses are really good, aren't they? Mama said we all have a 'matron' goddess, that's the goddess who looks after us. Hers is Nayru, yours is Din, and mine is the goddess of the sand."

Ganondorf was expecting her to say Farore, so to hear that Zelda had been teaching Baby about his people's savior thrilled him. "The Goddess of the Sand, eh? She is a very important goddess. Do you know why she looks after you?"

Baby chewed on her lip. "It's silly."

Ganondorf rubbed her back, and urged her to continue.

"Oh, alright... Mama said that we're both 'the product of a star crust onion'. But I don't like onions! I want a different goddess!"

Ganondorf had to suppress his laugh, otherwise he would have startled Baby. "I think she meant 'star crossed union', so you don't have to worry about any onions. Besides, _Okaa,_ as we Gerudo call her, is the perfect goddess for you. Let me tell you a story, Baby. Back when the land was first created, the three goddesses asked the goddess Hylia to look over the creatures that inhabited it. One of those creatures was Demise, a very powerful warrior who represented darkness. You can't have light without darkness, you see."

"But everything's dark to me."

"Ohh, not that kind of darkness, my Pumpkin. Hylia and Demise were opposites, and that was what attracted them to each other. The three goddesses did not approve of their love at all, so Hylia and Demise had to meet in secret. Hylia soon gave birth to a baby girl, who the goddesses took away. This made Demise very angry, and he waged war over the land. He wanted to take the Golden Power away from The Three and use it to make a world where he, Hylia, and their baby could live in peace. But Hylia couldn't let him harm the land or the people living there, and sadly had to seal Demise away."

"What'd they do to the baby? They didn't hurt the baby, did they?"

"Not at all, Pumpkin. Din felt pity for the poor child. She was just an innocent baby, after all. So Din raised her and sent her to the desert, where she became the Goddess of the Sand. She then served as the protector of the Gerudo, who are your and my ancestors. That's why we call her our Mother."

Baby tilted her head back and forth as she processed the story. "Then, that means Mama is like Hylia, you're Demise, and I'm the baby? Is that why my name's Baby?"

Ganondorf chuckled. Now that he thought about it, his current situation really did match the legend. But that was enough theology for now. "Come on, Baby, let's leave Mama to sleep and go have a bath."

Baby crawled off his chest as he carefully detached himself from Zelda. He followed her to her room and helped her gather clothes, then the pair headed out to the small spring pool beside the cottage.

* * *

Zelda woke alone in a cold bed, but was not bothered for she could hear rambunctious laughter from just outside the window. When she got up to investigate, she saw something truly heartwarming. Ganondorf and Baby were splashing around in the spring, with Baby pretending to be a leviathan. She pounced on Ganondorf and gnawed at his neck, while he played the part of a melodramatic victim and lamented his fate. The victim won out in the end, though, when Ganondorf caught the leviathan and started blowing kisses on her tummy.

"Ahaha, Papa, stop it! Tickles!"

"No way, the evil sea dragon must pay for her crimes!"

"Papaaaaaaa!"

"Oh, alright, you can go free. Just hold still while I dry you off." Ganondorf sat Baby on the bank, then stood to fetch their towels. Zelda blushed and quickly turned away, having caught a full view of Ganondorf's naked body.

"I don't know what you're turning away from, you've seen it before!" Ganondorf yelled with a smirk, having known they were being watched. He wrapped Baby in a towel and carried her over to the window where Zelda stood, not bothering to cover himself. "You're a mommy now, remember? Can't be a mommy without-"

"Thank you, Ganondorf," Zelda said, with a glare that practically screamed 'not in front of Baby'. She reached through the window and brought Baby inside to finish dressing her.

"Don't you need this?" he replied, dangling Baby's dress from his finger. When Zelda reached over to grab it, he caught her and pulled her in for a good morning kiss. "I'm glad you're feeling better, my queen."

Zelda raised an eyebrow at the term, but nevertheless accepted his comment. "Could you please cover yourself, then go out to the chicken pen and fetch some eggs for breakfast? If you're really hungry, you may have one of the males, but stay away from the pig pen."

"Yeah, don't eat Nabs!" Baby shouted as she pulled her dress over her head.

* * *

Ganondorf stood in the corner of the kitchen, watching intently as Zelda gave Baby her daily lessons. Mathematics using pebbles, music with the lyre, grammar and story time... As the lessons were coming to a close, Zelda produced a small tablet and stick. He watched her lay a piece of paper over the tablet and tap it repeatedly, then she flipped it over and handed it to Baby.

Zelda glanced over to Ganondorf with a bright smile on her face. "Okay, sweetie, last lesson of the day. Go ahead and tell Papa what the paper says."

"Okie!" Baby hummed and laid the paper on the table. Zelda's tapping had produced bumps on the opposite side, which Baby ran her fingers over. "It says, um... 'Mama and Baby... love you... very much!'"

At a loss for words, Ganondorf came over and hugged his girls. "I love you too, my Zelda and my precious Baby."

"It's called braille," Zelda explained as Ganondorf examined the paper. "Impa brought me a book and I've been teaching Baby how to read with it, but there aren't many resources other than the ones I make."

"Then I'll have some made for you," Ganondorf said. "My daughter and my wife get whatever they want."

Zelda was struck speechless, but Baby was unable to contain her excitement. "Really?! Can I have a kitty?"

"My Pumpkin gets whatever she wants. You can have ten kitties."

Baby leapt off Zelda's lap and started running happily around the room. Any other time Zelda would have chided her for making a ruckus, but at the moment she was fixed on Ganondorf.

"D...did you say..."

"I said wife. Opposite of husband. Queen to a king. As in what you are to me." Ganondorf grinned, then helped Zelda stand. "You will have me, won't you?"

Just as he had done seven years prior in that dusty cabin, Ganondorf rendered Zelda speechless. She furiously nodded her head, a gesture she hadn't made in years on account of Baby. He responded by scooping her up into a passionate kiss, and caressing every bit he could reach.

"Baby, why don't you go play outside with your piggy," Ganondorf suggested as they broke for air, a lewd grin on his face. "I'm going to make sure Mama gets her rest."

"Okie." Baby ran out the front, and no sooner had the door shut than Ganondorf got Zelda on her bed, leaving a trail of their clothes behind.


	23. Servant of the Goddess

Baby was rooting around in a pile of fallen leaves when she heard someone approaching. Recognizing the person's footsteps and the jingle of their accoutrements, Baby popped out of the pile with her arms up.

"RAWR! I'm a Sheikah eating monster! RAWR RAWR!!!"

The visitor faked a gasp, and put her arms up. "Oh no, what am I going to do? There's a terrible leaf monster here! I hope it doesn't do anything to my basket of cookies..."

"COOKIES!" Baby stumbled out of the leaf pile and rushed over. "Ooo, ooo, Nanny Impa, ooo!!"

"Alright, here you go. Easy, easy, you don't need to wolf it down," she chided, though Baby had already reduced her cookie to crumbs. "So tell me, little leaf monster, what are you doing out here all alone? Don't you usually help your mother with her chores?"

"Yeah, but Mama's inside having nap time with Papa right now."

Impa stiffened. "Did you say nap time? _With Papa_?"

"Yeah, Papa! I love Papa, he's so nice and strong and makes me and Mama really happy..."

Baby continued praising her Papa, so she didn't realize that Impa had marched away to the house. Once inside, she found a scantily clad Ganondorf wringing out a washcloth in front of the sink. He looked up and nodded.

"Ah, General Impa, a pleasure to see-"

Impa cut him off with a sharp right hook to the jaw. He stumbled backward and knocked into the table, sending the remains of lunch crashing to the floor.

"I suppose I deserved that," Ganondorf mumbled and rubbed his chin, just as a very alarmed Zelda came running into the room.

"What happened? Baby... is Baby alright? Where's my Baby?"

"Baby is fine, she's outside eating her cookies," Impa said as she stepped over Ganondorf and cupped Zelda's chin. "Zelda, my child, you are so pale and thin... What has this bastard been putting you through?"

Zelda hugged Impa, relieved to see her again after so long. "Impa, I missed you..."

"How about I leave the two of you to catch up," Ganondorf grumbled once he picked himself up from the floor. "I'll just go play with my daughter."

Impa sneered but only succeeded in making Ganondorf laugh. Once he was outside, she turned back to Zelda. "What is he doing here?"

Feeling light headed, Zelda led Impa over to the couch. "I can explain, just give me a few minutes. I've been rather ill..."

"And I take it from the scant amount of clothing on him and the redness of your ears and neck that he wouldn't wait until you were feeling better? How long has he been here with you? What made you change your mind about staying in hiding?" Impa rattled off a number of questions, which Zelda ignored in favor of resting in Impa's lap. Before long, she was asleep.

Impa sighed and covered Zelda with a blanket from the back of the couch. Baby entered a few minutes later, looking for her mama.

"Over here, Baby. Your mama is asleep."

"Papa said Mama is probably still sick," Baby said once she wiggled her way between Impa and Zelda. "Nanny, can you help Mama get better like Papa did?"

Impa raised an eyebrow, and glanced toward the kitchen where Ganondorf was busy cleaning up the broken dishes. "Is that so?"

"Yeah," he answered. "What, you don't think I would take care of the woman I love? I was on my way back home from the failed negotiation at the castle, when I saw a group of monsters attacking Baby. I saved her, then a while later she came to me asking for my help. Zelda had caught something and passed out."

"I was really scared," Baby chimed in.

"So I treated her with potion and a mushroom aloe poultice, which staved off her fever. We thought she was cured, otherwise I would have _waited_ ," Ganondorf said, making an obscene gesture so Baby wouldn't understand what he was talking about.

Impa scoffed, and wrapped her hands around Zelda and Baby in a protective embrace. "It sounds to me as if she's caught a form of _polmonite_ , an old Sheikah disease. Her mother was half, after all. Since you're not sick after all that _fluid transfer,_ it must not be the contagious form."

Oblivious to Impa's insult and Ganondorf's embarrassment, Baby tugged on Impa's sleeve and added, "Mama made me play outside so I wouldn't catch it. She's such a smart mama!"

"That's right! Lucky for us, I happened to have brought a trove of medicines with me so we'll make sure she gets better." Impa gently eased Zelda off her lap onto the couch, kissed Baby's forehead, then pulled Ganondorf out of the cottage.

Once well out of earshot, Impa began berating Ganondorf. "Didn't I tell you to behave around the princess? You barely knew each other, then all of a sudden my seventeen year old girl is pregnant! Zelda was thrilled until the advisors tried to _kill her and her baby_!"

"General Impa, if I had known, I would have slaughtered them all myself," Ganondorf answered with a straight face. "Zelda means the world to me. The only thing that stopped me from waging war on the castle once I heard of her death was knowing that she wouldn't want me to. Had I known she was pregnant, I would have taken care of her. Hell, I was already going to ask her to marry me when I came back from the harvest!"

Impa scoffed. "How could you ask someone to marry you after only knowing them for a week or so?"

Ganondorf shook his head. "Impa, you do not understand. I haven't known Zelda for a week. I've known her for a lifetime. No, several lifetimes. In each one I've met a Zelda, but during only one of those lives did she care for me the way she does now. My first lifetime... the best lifetime... I knew as soon as she helped take that spear from my shoulder that we had a chance at happiness again. And now that I've met Baby, I know I was right. If only you had let me know they were alive, then I could have been there for Zelda..."

The Gerudo king turned and looked toward the cottage, his genuine smile surprising Impa. "But no use dwelling on the past... She said she'll have me. We're all together now, and I plan to be the best husband and father in all of Hyrule! You will keep protecting the girls, won't you? _Mother?_ "

Impa answered with a left hook, knocking Ganondorf on his towel covered ass and leaving him with a red cheek to match his earlier one. "Do not call me Mother again," she sneered and stomped back to the house. "And for the record, if you make either of them cry, I will send you back to your people as a woman!"

As the cottage door slammed shut, Ganondorf shivered and rubbed his sore face. "Thank you for your blessing, Servant of the Goddess..."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ganondorf may or may not consider clothing an optional accessory. :3


	24. Bonding

Ganondorf saw Impa's timely appearance as a chance to return home for supplies, but the last thing he wanted to do was leave without telling Zelda. So he got dressed and sat on the couch, holding her head in his lap while waiting for her to wake.

Zelda came around just before sundown, and was pleased that Ganondorf was the first thing she saw as she opened her eyes.

"You did it again," Ganondorf whispered with a smile, and wiggled the fingers Zelda had laced with hers in her sleep.

"Baby and I always hold hands when she sneaks into my bed," Zelda mumbled and nuzzled closer to Ganondorf, snaking her free hand around his waist. "...You're staying."

"How did you..."

"No one dons full armor to snuggle in bed, especially on the same day they take a wife. You. Stay. Put." Ignoring the fact they weren't even in a bed, Zelda tightened her grip and reclosed her eyes.

Impa listened in on the conversation from the kitchen as she fed Baby her dinner. Once it seemed like Zelda was asleep again, she began speaking to Ganondorf in a rudimentary form of Gerudo so Baby wouldn't understand.

"It's a side effect of the poisoning."

"Since when do you speak our language?" he replied, glaring over his shoulder before remembering Zelda saying the Sheikah had Gerudo friends. "...Continue."

Impa remained calm and explained. "The poor girl tends to get tired a lot. Headaches, coughs, sleeping spells... Catching what is essentially pneumonia wiped her out. She really shouldn't live alone because of it."

Ganondorf snorted. "She won't be living alone anymore."

"Putting my personal thoughts about you aside, I do not believe she should live in the desert. The climate could possibly accentuate the damage. This climate is moderate, the land is fertile and monsters are few. Life here is peaceful."

"Life here is hard. That garden out there is noble but not enough to sustain a mother and child. This cottage is cold and drafty. There are lizalfos roaming the forest that nearly killed Baby. I can't accept this!"

Impa grimaced, and motioned for Ganondorf to keep his voice down for Baby's sake. When he acknowledged, she continued speaking. "Ever since she was little, Zelda hated castle life. She cried in my arms when I first brought her here, but after recovering from Baby's birth she started to flourish. She loves getting her hands dirty in the garden, taking Baby for walks through the old Sacred Forest Meadow, cooking... Heh, the first time she tried to make a cake it was a spectacular failure, but she was so damn delighted by the experience that we ate it anyway. 'Practice pudding,' she called it..."

"And I'm sure it was delicious," Ganondorf said, looking back down at Zelda's sleeping face. "...Doesn't she miss being around others?"

"Yes and no, I suppose. She's content to keep to herself, but I think she misses having the option to mingle. She liked going to the open air markets in Castle Town, so she probably-"

"Papa, Nanny, stop talkin' with those other words and talk to meee!" Baby pouted and clanged her spoon against the table, interrupting Impa and Ganondorf's discussion. "Nanny I don't like your soup, I want more of Papa's soup! And I want more of that yummy rice!"

Ganondorf laughed. "I'll bet you do, Pumpkin, but I don't have any more rice with me."

"Then let's go and get some!" Baby jumped down from her chair, and ran towards the door. Impa caught her and put her right back in the chair, making her pout. "...Mean Nanny."

"For Farore's sake, it is nighttime, child," Impa said once Baby stopped trying to escape. "If you want rice, I can get some from the cellar."

"No, Papa's rice tasted better, I want that one!"

"Of course it tastes better, our Gerudo red rice is far more nutritious than Hylian white rice. It'll make you grow up big and strong!"

"Yeah! I wanna be big and strong like you, Papa!"

"Then I'll make sure you get all the good food you want!"

"Yay!"

Impa sighed and shook her head. Baby and Ganondorf both had the same smug look on their faces, and were both triumphantly snickering. Despite being apart for six years, Baby had still managed to inherit her father's mannerisms. "Baby, you will eat the dinner I've made for you, then you will go to bed. Ganondorf, stop indulging her and start acting like a parent."

"Hey, I'll have you know I've been a parent several times in my previous lives."

"Yes, well I've been a nursemaid for most of _this_ life so that gives me a little more authority on the subject than you. Giving a child everything they want doesn't teach them responsibility," Impa said. "If you want to treat Baby, you may do so tomorrow if it's okay with Zelda."

Defeated, Ganondorf and Baby grumbled at the same time.

Satisfied, Impa sat down at the table. "Good. Now carry Zelda to bed while I make sure _somebody_ eats their dinner."

"Mean Nanny!"

* * *

Impa utterly refused to allow Ganondorf to sleep in Zelda's bed once it was time to turn in. Since Baby was sleeping with her mother, and Impa in Baby's room, that left Ganondorf to spend the night on the couch. He even tried waiting up until he thought Impa was asleep, but she had enchanted Zelda's door knob to keep him out. "Damn Sheikah," he mumbled.

In the morning, Ganondorf got a nice surprise when he found Baby sleeping on his stomach. Apparently Impa's enchantment only worked from the outside. She had once again intertwined their fingers, so he used his other hand to gently remove Baby's thumb from her mouth. He then heard footsteps approaching from behind. "Don't get mad at me, you're the one who only enchanted half the door." He had assumed it was Impa, so when Zelda leaned over and kissed his forehead, he was delighted.

"No, don't get up," Zelda whispered as he lifted his head. She pulled a stool over to the edge of the couch, then gathered Ganondorf's long hair into her lap and started brushing. As she worked, she lightly hummed a familiar song.

"I've heard that before, you played it on your lyre the day we conceived Baby," Ganondorf mumbled. He was extremely comforted by Zelda's brushing, so much so that had he not have just woken up, he would be out like a kitten.

"It will sound crazy, but I'm the only one who knows what this song is," Zelda said. "I've asked Impa, my father, other people... No one knows where I've heard it. Maybe my mother sang it to me and I just don't remember... Funny enough, though, if you play it backwards it sounds like the lullaby Impa always sang for me."

"...The Ballad of the Goddess."

Zelda looked up from her brushing at Ganondorf's words. He had closed his eyes, deep in thought, then began singing the song with old Hylian lyrics. Baby soon woke, and was delighted to hear her Papa singing.

"Yay, Papa can sing!"

"...Ganondorf, that was beautiful! How do you know those words?"

Ganondorf sat up on the couch and motioned for Zelda to sit with him and Baby. "You used to sing them to me in a previous life," he mumbled. "I didn't remember until just now... You always sang that song, usually while playing your harp."

"I play the lyre, not the harp," Zelda giggled. "But what do you mean I sang it to you? I understand the cyclic nature of the lives of Triforce bearers; when one gifted with the Golden Power dies, they are born again with echoes of their previous memories. But you and I, we've always been on opposite sides..."

"Not always," Ganondorf murmured as he kissed Zelda's neck. "Remember how aroused you got when I called you 'Your Grace'? There's a reason for that..."

Zelda laughed as Ganondorf continued kissing down her neckline onto the top of her breasts. He was just about to mark her, when a tiny hand grabbed and pulled on his nose.

"Papa, you're giving Mama too many kissies. It's morning so we hafta go get more yummy rice before Nanny wakes up!"

Zelda tilted her head. "Yummy rice...?"

"The Gerudo red rice we ate after you woke up," Ganondorf explained after tickling Baby as revenge. "The reason I was in my armor last night was because I wanted to go back to the Valley for supplies, since Impa was here to look after you. Baby wanted to get more rice, but then _someone_ put up a fuss and sent us to bed."

"Psst- it was Nanny," Baby chimed in.

"I see," Zelda said. "...I guess it would be okay for you to get some supplies. That and your people are probably worried about you, since you've been gone so long."

"You're so kind to think of them," Ganondorf replied with a grin. "I left Aveil in charge, she's a good leader so you needn't be concerned about my absence. Besides, she knows where I've been spending my time lately, and could always come find me in an emergency. She's a mother now, too, and would chew me out for thinking of them while spending time with my family."

Zelda thought for a minute, before playfully poking Ganondorf in the ribs. "In that case, fetch Baby and I some breakfast, _husband_ , so that we may dine together before you leave."

Ganondorf obliged, and stole a kiss from Zelda as he rose. "Anything for you, _wife_ , but I have this terrible feeling that something painful will happen if we keep calling each other such before we formally wed," he mumbled, taking a precautionary glance toward Baby's bedroom.

"Only if you don't _behave_ yourself," the shadows whispered, causing Ganondorf to frown as he entered the kitchen.

"Sneaky eavesdropping Sheikah..."


	25. Field Trip

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There is one paragraph that may be a little confusing, so I’ll elaborate. As you may remember from part one, Aveil is technically Ganondorf’s great granddaughter. Aveil’s grandmother is Mia (anyone remember her from Ocarina?). Mia is Ganondorf’s daughter from his previous life. The current Ganondorf was born into another family line.

"Mama, can I go with Papa to meet the other Gerudo?"

Zelda looked up from her breakfast at Baby's request. Would Baby be okay around that many strangers? Zelda trusted Ganondorf implicitly, there was no question he would take care of her. But a majority of the Gerudo only spoke their own language, and not being able to communicate might upset Baby. If she got over stimulated, there would be nowhere familiar for her to calm down at. Then again, Baby was naturally curious. Her favorite history lessons were those that centered on the Gerudo, and she had no problem exploring the forest on her own. Ganondorf would be there to comfort her and translate for her, and it was clear how overprotective he was of his daughter.

"You will protect her with your life and your 'special gift', I expect," Impa said while Zelda thought it over.

"Sheikah always did have a gift for stating the obvious," Ganondorf grumbled. "Of course I would, _Mother_." Impa's fist twitched under the table, causing Ganondorf to guffaw. He knew she thought very highly of him, but couldn't help teasing her. She was about to tease him back, when Zelda touched her forearm.

"Impa, will you be here for a while?"

"I have the week to stay with you, _Shahzadi_."

Zelda smiled. "Okay. Ganondorf, you may take Baby with you."

Baby hopped up and down in excitement, then ran over and hugged her mother. "Thank you Mommy!" she said, and kissed her cheek.

"...I think that's the first time I've heard her call you 'Mommy,'" Impa remarked.

* * *

Ganondorf held Baby's hand tightly as they approached the entrance to Gerudo Valley. "Now remember what I said, Pumpkin. The girls love meeting new people, especially children, but they don't all speak the same language as you. Me and my friend Aveil will help you understand them, okay? Don't be afraid to tell us if you're scared, okay?"

"Okie, Papa! Is Aveil your friend from when we first met?"

"You have a good memory, Baby. She is my general, kind of like how Nanny is Mama's general. She's really nice, and she's got a little baby named Neera that you can meet." Ganondorf picked Baby up as they crossed into the settlement, and headed straight for the fortress. Many Gerudo stopped to welcome their king home, intrigued by the little girl in his arms.

Eventually Aveil noticed the commotion, and came out to greet him. "About blinking time," she said, then stopped when she saw Baby. "My Lord! You can't just _steal_ that little girl! Her mother is going to have a heart attack!"

"It's okay, Aveil," he answered in Hylian. "Baby, I'd like you to meet Aveil."

Baby shied away into Ganondorf's shoulder, unsure how to respond. Aveil, remembering she was blind, placed her hand on the back of Baby's palm to calm her. "Hello Baby, I'm Aveil. It's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you, too," she answered, then smiled and rolled back into Ganondorf's shoulder. "Papa, she sounds really kind."

"PAPA?!" Aveil stepped back, stunned. She switched back to Gerudo. "Did she say 'Papa?'"

"Yes she did. Can't you see the resemblance?"

"I see the resemblance but I also see a lot of Hylian in her. In this life, yours and your mother's fathers were both Ordonian. Grandmother Mia had Hylian in her blood, but you died before you could sire any more children and were reborn into a different line. So even if you had a night of fun with one of the girls or an Ordonian, which goes against everything I know about you by the way, there is no way you'd have a Hylian baby."

"Let's go inside, there are some things to discuss," he said with a laugh.

* * *

Baby sat on the floor in the corner, playing with Aveil's daughter and husband, while Ganondorf and Aveil spoke in private.

"Great Goddess of the Sand, Zelda is _alive?!_ "

"Yes, and she is the mother to my child. I still have problems believing it myself," Ganondorf responded. "Apparently the Hylian dog king and his council tried to poison her when they found out she was pregnant, and when that didn't work they imprisoned her and announced the murder. General Impa was able to fake a corpse and make them think she had actually died, then got her to safety in the forest."

"Did you say Impa? My mother was good friends with her, and always said she was the one Sheikah the Gerudo could trust," Aveil said. "It's fate then that she intervened. Breaking her oath to the Royal Family is serious business, after all."

Ganondorf scratched his chin. "She hasn't said it outright, but it's apparent she has lost faith in the king. Remember, Zelda is and always will be royalty, so in a way she really hasn't broken the Sheikah oath to the Royal Family."

"Well regardless, we need to safeguard Lady Zelda. Bring her here, the Gerudo will protect her."

"That is currently not an option," Ganondorf said with a shake of his head. "She has a weak immune system from the poisoning, and needs to stay in the cooler climate of the forest."

Aveil studied her king's expression. "You're hiding something. What are you planning?"

"Remember what I told you when I came back from Hyrule seven years ago? How the guards were starting to question their orders? How do you think they would react if they found out the truth, that their beloved princess was nearly assassinated by their own king and council?"

"There would certainly be an uprising, which could lead to a war."

Ganondorf smirked and looked over at Baby. "...I was thinking more along the lines of a coup. Zelda and the guards on their own against the council might not end well, but Zelda and the guards with the support of her husband's army would. I'm betting you and Fado might even be able to convince the Ordonians to back us up."

"The Ordonians have and always will be pacifists, you know that. Nothing Fado says to the village leaders will cause them to take up arms. But I know that they are very displeased with Hylian relations as of late," Aveil said. "Possibly even enough to stop trading with them. But I think you are missing one very important detail here, m'lord."

"What?"

"From what I know of Zelda, she's not one to start a war. I mean, she kept the kid from you and lived the simple life in the forest all these years. If she wanted to take the king down, she would have come to you right away. She probably knows we would treat her like the goddess she is, and blind or not Baby is our princess and quite possibly the Mother reincarnated. We will do anything for them, and would act against those who insult them."

Ganondorf thought for a moment. "True, I haven't suggested any of this to Zelda or even Impa yet. But I want what's best for her and Baby, and living alone in the forest isn't it. I will return to her side for now, and I want you to think of some possible actions while I am gone. If anyone asks who Baby is, tell them she is an orphan from Ordonia that I have adopted. Do not share what I've told you, even with Fado. The king never found out Baby was born or even that I am her father. This gives us an advantage."

"You have my word, Lord Ganondorf."

"I am ever grateful to have you as a confidant," Ganondorf said, patting her on the shoulder. "Baby! Come, let's retire to my chambers. I know a dirty little girl who could use a nice scrubbing, and I just so happen to have a big bubble bath that she can splash around in."

"YAY! Can we play leviathans again?"

Ganondorf laughed, and picked up his little leviathan. Once they left the room, Aveil turned to her husband and sighed. "It's always the big and burly ones who make the cutest parents."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realize linking this to Ocarina opens up a lot of plot holes, since Link doesn’t go back in time in that story and thus Hyrule never gets flooded. But for the hell of it, let’s say that TP happens on the adult timeline. At some point Ganondorf will escape confinement in the Sacred Realm, and the descendant of Link and Sheik from Ocarina is the Link who kills Ganondorf in TP. That way everything fits all nice and neat, Ocarina Ganondorf is reborn as Blind Courage Ganondorf.
> 
> (If any of you actually read Ocarina and are wondering how the hell Sheik and Link had a kid, I have an explanation in a yet to be published coda!)


	26. Souvenirs

Zelda stood in front of a mirror, fascinated by the simple yet elegant dress Impa had brought her. "It's lovely..."

"Since my official title is no longer 'general' and now simply 'nursemaid', they put me in charge of inventorying the wardrobe," Impa explained as she pulled an enormous trunk from shadowspace. "They will never know what is missing."

Impa slid the trunk toward Zelda, and urged her to open it. Zelda sat beside it and lifted the lid, gasping at what she saw. Inside was all of her favorite clothing that she had been forced to leave behind, as well as numerous dresses and tea gowns that had belonged to her mother. There was even the lavender sundress that had been stained with Ganondorf's blood, which she kept for sentimental value. "Oh, Impa, this is... I... I don't know what to say!"

"I figured you would be pleased. Go on, take a look."

Zelda continued looking through the trunk with a smile on her face. She was halfway through when she felt something solid. "What is..." She gasped once she pulled the item free. It was her lyre, the very same one that had been passed down through the Royal Family.

"Oh yeah... That I stole from the reliquary. We can't have Baby learning to play on an inferior instrument, can we?"

"Impa, a few dresses are one thing, but this... This is something they will surely miss!"

"They won't notice unless they try to play the fake I left in its place, and no one will try to play it because of superstition," Impa responded calmly. "Besides... there are other things on their minds at the moment."

Impa let Zelda enjoy her present for a few hours, then sat down with her at the table. "There is something I need to discuss with you."

"Yes?"

"I am actually thankful that Ganondorf has come back into your life right now. I don't know if he knows this, but... the king has been trying to re-establish the line of succession."

Zelda sat up straight as Impa continued. "I'm sure you remember the last time he tried to remarry, when you were barely a teenager."

"Yes, he was trying to court the princess of the land across the sea. They ultimately rejected because they feared Hyrule's enemies would become their own."

"Yes. But now he is actively seeking out partners, with the excuse that Ganondorf and his people are too weak to be a threat. I do not believe they will buy into this bravado. But I do know that if all else fails, he will take the chamberlain's daughter. If that happens, and she births a child, the council will win. I truly fear for Hyrule's future if the council get their way."

Zelda stared at the table. "...I think you're right. That would not be best for the people. But what can we do to stop it?"

"Ganondorf has been visiting the king once a year for the past seven years as an attempt to broker peace. I don't know how he's been able to do it, given how much he hates the king. But the king truly believes that Ganondorf is a wolf who has lost his fangs. It might not be a bad idea for Ganondorf to demonstrate that he can still bite."

"Impa... what you're suggesting is high treason. You've stood by your oath to the Royal Family for years, what has pushed you to break it?"

Impa sighed, and bowed her head. "...They're trying to erase you from the minds of the people. They've slowly been neglecting your memorial, they shun anyone who speaks highly of you, and the last straw was when they told me to clear out your room and possessions. As far as I'm concerned, they are not the Royal Family I swore allegiance to. You and Baby are the only ones I look after now."

Zelda reached out for Impa's hands, and gave her a teary smile. "Thank you, for all you've done for us. I'm sorry you've had to go against your oath..."

"Now, now, no tears," Impa said after wiping Zelda's cheek. "Come on, let's go through the gowns and see what we can use for a ceremony. Apparently there's going to be a wedding in the near future."

"Oh, Impa, you mean it? You're not opposed?"

"Child, that man is a loud, arrogant, proud son of a bitch. But he's also loyal, protective, and the most loving father I've ever seen. I wouldn't trust you with anyone else."

* * *

Zelda was sitting on the porch, making some braille stories for Baby when she and Ganondorf returned.

"Mama, Mama! Lookie what Papa gave me!"

Baby came running up the path, with an enormous stuffed bear in her arms. Zelda had to run out and grab her, since she was in danger of tripping over the bear's legs. "Goodness, Baby, this bear is bigger than you!"

"Yeah, and it's nice and fuzzy! Imma go play with him in my room," Baby said, and squirmed out of her mother's arms and ran into the house. Zelda then heard a similar reaction out of Impa as she tidied the kitchen.

"Only the best for our little girl," Ganondorf murmured, as he came up behind Zelda and wrapped his arms around her waist. "I was going to give her a kitten but I didn't know if she was ready for it."

"Nabs might have gotten jealous," Zelda replied, closing her eyes and leaning back against her husband-to-be. "...I don't know why I didn't do this sooner."

"The past is the past, my love. What matters is that we're together now, and I intend to take care of both of you." Ganondorf left a kiss on Zelda's neck, then motioned to his horse.

Zelda looked at the loaded saddlebags, and the very large pack that Ganondorf must have worn on his back. "Ganondorf, did you bring the entire Valley back with you?"

"There are salted meats, dried fruits, pickled vegetables, and as much red rice as we could carry," he boasted. "My family will not go hungry."

"You loaded all that onto your horse? Poor thing!" Zelda ran over and loosened the load from the horse's back, then stopped and stared at Ganondorf's pack. "That... that's a keg, isn't it. You brought a keg of beer back with you, didn't you?"

"Of course not! That is ale, not beer."

"What use do Baby and I have for ale?!"

"To be honest, I meant it for myself and possibly Impa to enjoy."

Zelda pursed her lips, then sat herself down right on top of the keg. "No ale for you until your chores are done. Get all this food unpacked and put away, help Impa finish cleaning the house, then maybe I'll be generous and serve your ale."

Ganondorf found it so cute that Zelda was pretending to be annoyed, so he played along. "As you wish. I guess I better start by putting this keg away, then." He motioned like he was going to pick the keg up, Zelda and all, but instead grabbed Zelda and rolled her into the grass. The two laughed and smiled at each other.

"You're so damned adorable when you pout," Ganondorf mumbled into Zelda's ear.

"And you're so irresistible that I can't help it," Zelda responded, turning her head and taking her lover's lips.

From inside the cottage, Impa couldn't help but smile as she looked out the window. Her princess was happy, and that was all that mattered.


	27. The Plan

After a hearty dinner and a friendly drinking contest between Ganondorf and Impa (which she damn near won), Baby was put to bed and the adults retreated to the living room for heavy discussion.

"The look on your face says you have a lot weighing down your mind, General," Ganondorf began. "I have a feeling we worry over the same subject. Shall I be frank? I'd like very much to kill your king, or in the least torture him severely. ...Sorry love," he added, after noticing Zelda's frown.

"You're letting the ale get the best of you," Impa warned. "I do not wish to kill my king. I do however, wish for things to change. You may not realize it, but the people of Hyrule are getting poorer. Resources are being squandered, temples neglected, and relations with allies are weakening. This cold war with your people has gone on longer than it should have."

"I will never bow to his demands and you know that."

"Impa wasn't blaming you," Zelda spoke up as she touched Ganondorf's shoulder. "You've been a wonderful king. I think she meant that my father is being unreasonable. You're a young king, loved by your people, who respects and honors the traditions of others. He can't even accept that his own daughter has the free will to fall in love."

Zelda hung her head, which made Ganondorf slam his fist onto the table. "This foolishness has to end! Give me the word and I will march straight into that throne room and evict him myself!"

"I have a better idea," Impa said, attempting to calm him down. "I explained to Zelda that the king thinks you are a wolf without fangs. How about you show him just how hard you can bite? Use your strength to take one of the outlying villages. The people living there would probably welcome the change."

"That idea is stupid. Aveil's was better," he mumbled.

Impa raised an eyebrow. "And that was?"

"Convince the Ordonians to cut off trade relations with Hyrule."

"Intriguing," Impa said. "It wouldn't be a heavy blow, but it might just be enough to distract him from courting a wife. What would you do next?"

"The next part of the plan depended on Zelda," he answered, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. "I have an idea that could very well lead to his removal, but it would require coming out of hiding."

Zelda looked up at Ganondorf, while Impa leaned back in her chair. "...I think I know what you're getting at. You wish to use his own soldiers against him, don't you?"

Ganondorf laughed. "Well, it wouldn't be hard to convince them, General, they already know the war is entirely for spite."

"And how did you know this?"

"Heard it from one of your guards, the day I learned about the murder. He told me some interesting things, namely how none of them believed a Gerudo would ever do more than steal. He even said I was a gentleman for catching you the day we met," he said with a smile to Zelda. "I wonder how they would react if they found out it was one of their own that tried to kill you? Or better yet that you were still alive? They loved their 'little princess', and I'm willing to bet they would love her as their queen even more."

Impa folded her arms. "You want to orchestrate a coup to replace the king with Zelda. How would you benefit from this?"

"First and foremost, Zelda wouldn't have to live in hiding anymore. Second, Baby would have the benefit of learning from both the Gerudo and the Hylian royal scholars. And third, if the king of the Gerudo was married to the queen of the Hylians, Hyrule would be reunified. No more bickering over resources or shunning the unfortunate. What is there to lose?"

Zelda stood up from the table and walked to the window, startling the other two. Ganondorf rose to comfort her, but she stopped him by raising her hand as she stared at the moon. "...I like it here. I like being able to take my daughter outside and explore, without having to worry about getting our clothes dirty. I like rolling around in the grass with my lover. I like staying up late to watch the stars and then waking up whenever my body says I'm done sleeping." She sighed, and turned back from the window. "I can handle being the queen of the Gerudo, but... I can't handle being the queen of Hyrule."

Ganondorf went and held his bride-to-be, while Impa drummed her fingers on the table. "...What if we created a type of monarchy where the citizens chose their own council?"

"Let the people decide who is in charge?" Ganondorf snorted. "That type of system only works in small scale villages. Including my own and Ordonia, Hyrule has six provinces, with Castle Town practically a seventh. I could see each one of those electing its own leader, but someone would have to balance their power."

"Someone being you?" Impa suggested. "Castle Town can run itself with minimal difficulty. All we would need are a few good people to facilitate relations with our allies, and to govern in an emergency. You could handle that, couldn't you? Zelda wouldn't need to be an active ruler, she could easily retire and focus on raising Baby. After all, you will technically be a member of the Royal Family once you wed."

Ganondorf thought over Impa's words carefully. If everything played out the way Impa suggested, he would have a substantial amount of power with minimal obligation. Zelda would be safe to stay with Baby wherever she wanted. The Gerudo could once more stand beside the Hylians as equals. It would take time for prejudice to disappear, but at least they would be free. Impa was desperate to change Hyrule for the better, but she wouldn't have suggested he take over unless she had confidence in him. He was honored.

"My love, what do you think of this?" Ganondorf asked the quiet girl in his arms. "I don't want to do anything against your will. If you want, Impa and I can come up with a plan that doesn't involve exposing you..."

"No," she interrupted, "we have to do what's best for Hyrule. If I have to let people know I am alive in order to gain their support, I will do so."

"Very well, _Shahzadi_ , we will come up with a plan for how to best reveal your survival."

"Actually, I've thought of something, General," Ganondorf spoke up. "What if the king met Baby, before he met Zelda?"

The two women stared at Ganondorf as if he had grown a second head.

"Hear me out. Most Hylians haven't seen enough Gerudo to know what our standard features are, and I'm willing to bet that asshole wouldn't even recognize how much Baby looks like his own daughter unless she's standing beside her. We will enter the throne room and demand he surrender his kingdom. He will probably think I am kidding, then order the guards on me."

"...Which would be a prefect opportunity to reveal that the guards are no longer at his disposal!" Impa added. "I think I like this plan. Of course, he will question why everyone has disobeyed..."

"Then I come in?"

"Correct, my bride. When Zelda comes in, those around will see us and our beautiful child together. The image of a young and loving family contrasted with an old and withered council will be very powerful, and will certainly move any naysayers. The people loved their princess, even we in the far off Gerudo Valley knew that. The guards who have never seen a Gerudo commit a crime will have their doubts validated. As for the superstitious, this is where Baby can help. She can be the proof that The Three approved of our union."

"Leave that to me," Impa interrupted. "I have two loyal friends that can serve as witnesses. Alfonzo, who took over my role as General, and Anju, the apprentice doctor. Alfonzo was the only one on the council who believed the pregnancy was the will of the goddesses, and was against termination. Anju knew Zelda was poisoned, and she also knew Baby survived it. They tried to convince her after she returned from Kasuto that Zelda succumbed, but I know deep down she believes Zelda survived."

"It sounds like this plan was already in motion without my help," Ganondorf said with a grin. "There is just one tiny thing I wish to add. With Zelda's approval, of course."

"What is it, Ganondorf?"

"I think Baby needs a middle name."

Zelda furrowed her brow. "Baby's name is Baby and you are not changing it!"

"Of course not, I love her name as much as you do. But think about it, honey. What is the one name that no princess nor queen of Hyrule has ever taken? The one name that would elicit more feelings than any other name in your written history? The name that even WE GERUDO hold sacred?"

Impa raised her eyebrow, as Zelda thought it over. "There's a reason that name is never used, _Shahzadi_ , and you of all people should know why. No one can live up to it."

Zelda thought it over for several minutes, but then held her head high. "Impa, Ganondorf... We'll let her decide. When Baby wakes up, I'll have a talk with her and see if she wants to take the name. Her response will surely be the will of the goddesses, so we can act without fear. Apart from that, we put the plan in motion as we've discussed. I will start conditioning Baby for the trip. Impa, you will need to return to Hyrule and convince Alfonzo and Anju to help us."

"I will also need time to rally the guard. There is a small underground movement that disagrees with the decisions of the council. If I go to them and ask for help, they will assist. Sheikah are not known to be liars, so one of us to breaking our bond to join their cause will be all the proof they need."

"I will send Aveil, Jolene, and Dinae to assist you," Ganondorf said, directing his words to Impa. "Jolene can easily pass as Ordonian and will be useful as a courier. Dinae is around your age and has experience with tactical planning. She excels when it comes to foreign relations, and can help your men get prepared for working with the Gerudo. Aveil will serve as a link between your faction and mine. She is my blood and thus possesses the necessary magical skill for long distance communication. She is yours once her and her husband convince the Ordonians to end their trade with the Hylians."

Zelda sat on a chair and watched Ganondorf begin energetically pacing as he formed his strategy. "I will return to the Valley and begin assembling troops. We need to have a backup against the young and foolish Hylians who may take up arms in support of the king. Dinae will assist Impa with conditioning the border patrol, for they must not alert the king of our growing presence. I will station the troops within calling range, but when the time comes, only Baby and I will enter the city. Impa, you and Aveil will be in charge of protecting Zelda until the time is right. It may pay off to spread a rumor that the poisoning was just a cover up excuse for her death, to unnerve the council."

"I think it will be better for Aveil to act as your armed escort, when the time arrives," Impa suggested. "Zelda will be safe inside the city. She can use the disguise she wears for visits to Ordon Village, and I can instruct the guards to allow her to follow your retinue into the castle as my spy. I am not an active general anymore, but I am still a security officer. Have Aveil act suspicious of her, but otherwise let her be. No one would stop her."

"I think we are set. How long do we need to pull this off?" Ganondorf asked.

"It will take at least a month or two to get everything into motion, but I am confident we can prevail before the year's end," Impa answered. "I will return to Hyrule in three days. After that, I will not return until I am ready to put the plan into action."

"I will take the girls to the Valley, then. Winter will be upon us by the time you return, and it will help rally the troops if they know who they will be fighting for."

"Then it is settled," Impa declared by shaking Ganondorf's hand. He nodded his approval.

"There's one important thing we need to do though, before we get started. Wouldn't you agree, Zel-" Ganondorf cut short his sentence, when he spotted Zelda fast asleep in her chair.

"You better take her to bed, king. It will be the last time you do so as a bachelor."

Ganondorf started, then turned to Impa. "You mean you're actually going to allow me to sleep in the same bed? And that we're going to marry _tomorrow_?"

"You're already married in the Gerudo sense of the word," Impa mumbled as she settled in on the couch. "Besides, I think of Zelda as my daughter, and you make her happy. Can't argue with that. Though you do need to work on your manners. And no more monster toys for Baby."

"I'll try to hold back," Ganondorf replied, as he scooped up his sleepy bride and turned in for the night.


	28. Like a Fairy Tale

Midway through the night, Zelda was awakened by the familiar piddle paddle of Baby coming to sleep with her. She lifted her blanket to let Baby in and snuggled tightly against her. Baby eked out a "love you Mama", and quickly fell back asleep as Zelda stroked her ear. Zelda was nearly asleep herself when a large, warm arm wrapped around the two and pulled them into an embrace.

"Love you, Mama," Ganondorf murmured into Zelda's ear, as she settled happily into his arms.

When Zelda woke for the day, aside from discovering that Baby had apparently waged war with the covers and forced them to retreat from the bed into a tangled ball, she found a short and sweet note from Ganondorf taped to her mirror.

"'Take your time getting up and eating your breakfast, let Baby have as much playtime as she needs, then wear your cutest mother-daughter outfits and meet me at the fairy spring...' Aww..." Zelda took the chance to admire Ganondorf's elegant handwriting, then folded the note and tucked it away.

"Nyaaaaah... Mamaaaa..." Baby yawned and mumbled as she got up, but then rolled over to the other side of the bed. "Papa...? No Papa..."

"Papa's not here, honey. He's..." Zelda tried to think what he might be doing. "He's hiding. But he wants you to have a good breakfast, and to take as much time as you want playing today. Then we'll go find him."

"Ooo, Papa's being sneaky sneaky," she said once she was up and mobile. "I'll betcha he's gonna give us a big surprise!"

Zelda made herself and Baby presentable, then the pair went to the kitchen. Impa was already awake and had started preparing some eggs. "Ah, good morning you two."

"G'morning, Nanny."

"Good morning, Impa. Thank you for starting breakfast." Zelda expressed her thanks, then looked around suspiciously. "Say, do you know anything about the note I found on my mirror, or where Ganondorf may have gone?"

"I'm sorry, _Shahzadi_ , I wasn't even aware he was gone, though I suspected as much when I didn't hear any loud snoring. What was in the note he left you?"

"Not much, just a request to meet him by the fairy pool. He wants me and Baby to wear something that matches."

Impa smirked. "Well at least he has a nice sense of aesthetic."

* * *

Baby's definition of "play as much as you need" turned out to mean "find the dirtiest activities possible so that Mama spends a good hour scrubbing me clean", so it was much later than intended when Zelda and Baby arrived at the fairy spring. Baby then immediately slipped from her mother's grasp and dived right into the spring pool, causing Zelda to scream some of Impa's Sheikah curses as she fished her out.

"BABY! What in the name of The Three are you doing?! Your Papa wanted us to meet him here in our nicest outfits, and you've gone and soaked yours! Oh, and after I spent all that time combing and styling your hair..." Zelda grimaced, and looked down at her own now wet dress. "Ganondorf is going to be so disappointed..." She was almost in tears.

That was when several fairies came over, and with a few waves of their wands completely restored the girls' clothing.

"I really do admire how much these little beauties are capable of." Ganondorf stepped out from the shadows near the spring entrance, after waving a thank you to a fairy. His hair was tied back into a neat ponytail, and his usual headdress was swapped with a simple blood red gemstone strung across his forehead. He wore a dark purple, almost black high collared robe, with silver piping around the neck and hem. Little dragon designs decorated each side of the collar, and their tails continued down his long sleeves. Beneath the robe he wore a formal jacket and pants, with not a piece of armor in sight. He looked amazing.

"PAPA!" Baby shouted excitedly at the sound of her father's voice, and started to run for him. Zelda quickly grabbed hold of her, so she wouldn't end up in the pool again while trying to hug her Papa. Baby fought and squirmed, until Ganondorf came over and kissed her cheek.

"I would have thought Little Baby would wear herself out playing this afternoon," he joked, hoisting her up into his arms. "How was your day?"

"Well first me and Nabs went and played rooting in the big leaf pile that Nanny made but it got all soggy so then we went and crawled through the logs in the forest looking for minishes but there weren't any so then we came back and Nabs thought there might be some truffles in the big tree but it was really a mud puddle so we hadta go home and that's when Mama got mad."

"I'll bet you were one dirty little Pumpkin when you came home, weren't you?" Ganondorf said, then used his free arm to pull Zelda into his embrace. "Mama must have spent a lot of time cleaning you back up."

"Yes, and that's why I got so upset when she jumped into the pool just now," Zelda admitted. "I knew it had to be something special to cause you to write that note and go to all this trouble, and now that I see how enchanting you look, I realize I was right. You're so handsome..."

"And the two of you look more beautiful than I could have imagined." Ganondorf kissed Zelda's cheek, then bounced Baby on his arm. "You're probably wondering what I have planned. Gerudo do not have a formal marriage ceremony. Those lucky enough to find a lifelong mate don't usually adopt their partner's marriage customs, they just call themselves married and be done with it. I didn't want to do that. I wanted to be respectful to your background, so I asked Impa for some ideas. We came up with this."

Ganondorf motioned behind him, and Impa stepped forward from the shadows in her best formal attire. "The fairies are close to the goddesses. In Sheikah ceremonies, it was believed that interacting with them brought as much luck as working within a temple. This will be the perfect place to marry you two."

Zelda smiled widely as Impa stood in front of them and read from a traditional Sheikah marriage scroll. She remained tucked under Ganondorf's arm, after all it gave her comfort and there was no need for formalities. The simple fact that Baby existed meant they were already married in Gerudo society, and standing together as a family showed commitment.

"...so it shall be. Zelda, daughter of the family Harkinian, is now Zelda, matriarch of the family Dragmire. Ganondorf, king of the Gerudo, now takes Zelda of Castle Town as his wife, in the presence of witnesses Impa of the Sheikah, daughter Baby Dragmire, and the fairies of the forest. May the Three Golden Goddesses favor your union."

The instant Impa finished her words, Ganondorf grabbed Zelda's neck and pulled her into a passionate and messy kiss, barely giving Baby enough time to jump down out of his arms before getting smushed. Ganondorf wrapped his now free arm around Zelda's waist and pulled her off the ground, holding her to him in an almost obscene display of affection. Zelda equally returned the gesture, wrapping her legs tightly around his waist and digging her fingers into his hair, inadvertently severing the tie holding his hair back and making him look like a wild animal.

"...Come on, Baby, let's leave Mama and Papa to celebrate," Impa said to Baby as it became clear the newlyweds were in their own little world. "I'll make you some dinner, then we can have story time until bed." She then picked up Baby and exited the spring, thankful that Baby wouldn't have to live with the visual of what her parents were doing at that exact moment.


	29. Relocating

Just before dawn the following day, Impa caught a rather smug yet frazzled Ganondorf sneaking back into the house, with Zelda asleep in his arms.

"Well, nice of you two to return in such a timely fashion," she mocked. "Have fun conceiving the next Dragmire child?"

"Very funny, General," Ganondorf answered after he tucked Zelda into bed. "I suppose you never consummated a relationship with the one you loved?"

"The only one I ever loved was Zelda's mother Iriana, and considering we were fourteen at the time she was wed to Harkinian, no we never did anything of the sort."

Ganondorf had meant the comment in jest, so Impa's confession made him feel remorse. "My apologies, Impa, I hadn't meant to offend..."

"No, it is quite alright," Impa replied. "Our mothers were sisters, and we grew up together. Iriana and I were only cousins, but our bond went beyond that of sisters or even lovers. That's why I'm so protective of Zelda, and though there is no part of me in her, I still consider her to be my daughter."

"I don't know, from the sound of those curses yesterday, I'd say she is very much your daughter," Ganondorf laughed. "Plus she's got the stamina of a Sheikah. We were at it all night thanks to those damn little fairies healing her condition as a wedding gift. Praise Din it wore off because my back was starting to hurt- OW!"

A hit to the back of Ganondorf's head from a rolled up newspaper ended the conversation.

* * *

The week was finally over, and after a few tears, Zelda and Baby said their goodbyes to Impa. The plan was that they would meet in Gerudo Valley when everything was ready to put in motion, so at the moment Ganondorf and Zelda were loading the girls' belongings into a wagon.

"Fall and winter are mild in the Valley, so you shouldn't have any trouble enduring the weather," Ganondorf said while tying down a trunk. "I'll send one of the girls to mind the house and look over the livestock for you. Your horse can help mine pull the wagon."

"Nabs is coming with us too, you know," Zelda reminded him. "I bought that little pig as a runt last year, but she turned out to be more valuable as a companion for Baby than as a food source. I would hate to break them up..."

Ganondorf hugged his wife and kissed her forehead. "I wouldn't dream of such a thing. There will be plenty of room in the wagon for you and Baby to sit with her piggy, don't worry. Have you talked to Baby about my middle name suggestion yet?"

"I did, and she said something rather strange," Zelda replied while handing him another trunk to load. "I told her that we wanted to give her the middle name Hylia, but that it was a very special name and could be troublesome. She said she didn't care about that. She really likes the name and wants to take it, because then her name is 'a mix of all three'. Do you know what she's talking about?"

"Yeah, I do," Ganondorf said with a chuckle. "I told her the story of Hylia, Demise, and the Goddess of the Sand, and she very cleverly pointed out the parallels between their story and our own. I believe her exact words were 'Mama is like Hylia, you're Demise, and I'm the baby, so that's why my name's Baby'. It's very cute."

"I hope you didn't tell her exactly how the words 'Demise' and 'Dragmire' are linked," Zelda said with a frown. "I have come to terms with what I know about our past lives and their roles in Hyrule's dark past, but I do not want our daughter ashamed of her heritage."

"She won't be ashamed," he assured her. "I am certain she has inherited the gift of wisdom from you, and will understand that all things change with time. Besides, if all goes well, she won't have to worry about anything happening to her. Hyrule is going to be reunified, and there will be no strife in her lifetime. I will see to that personally." Ganondorf finished loading the wagon, then scooped up Zelda and carried her into the house, where Baby was napping on the living room floor next to her giant bear.

"I must thank you a thousand times over for giving me such a beautiful child," Ganondorf murmured into Zelda's ear as they sat on the couch. "I was a father in most of my previous lives, but during so few of them was I allowed to live and grow with my children. Even with the six, almost seven years we were apart, this means a lot to me. Thank you."

Zelda sensed the hurt in Ganondorf's voice, so she held and caressed the back of his hand. "Gan... Things are about to get a little hectic, possibly overwhelming for the three of us, but... When everything settles down, we can have more children."

Ganondorf sat up excitedly. "You mean it? I don't want to burden you..."

"No, it wouldn't be a burden," Zelda said. "I thought with Baby's pregnancy I'd be stuck in bed all day, but actually I didn't have to rest until about the last month. Plus I think it would be beneficial for Baby to have a sibling she can help take care of. Baby may be blind, but she is a very smart little girl and I have every confidence in her development."

"Mmm. I'm going to start teaching her our language when we get to the Valley, and I'm confident she'll have it mastered by the time we start for Hyrule Castle." Ganondorf then laid his head in Zelda's lap, and nuzzled into her belly. "You're such a wonderful mommy..."

Zelda smiled and stroked his hair. "And you're such a wonderful husband and Papa."

End of Part Two


	30. Part Three: Night in the Valley

Echoing the way Baby clung to her father when they first entered Gerudo Valley, Zelda held tightly to Ganondorf's arm as they crossed over into the settlement. It was night, so most of the Gerudo were indoors. Ganondorf led Zelda and the wagon over to the stable, where Aveil was waiting with a torch.

"I see you got my message, Aveil, good."

"Yes, m'lord," Aveil acknowledged, shoving the torch into his hand and unfolding a large cloak which she then draped around Zelda's shoulders. "Shame on you old man, for making this poor girl shiver! Good evening, my lady, I am Aveil, leader of the Gerudo Fortress and second in command to this bonehead. Where is the little one? I imagine she is just as cold."

"Baby is inside the wagon, asleep next to her pet pig," Ganondorf answered, slightly annoyed. "Just hurry and get the wagon unloaded, we have a lot to discuss." He held the light over the wagon so Zelda could pick up Baby, then he grabbed Nabs and led them into the complex.

"Ganondorf, she was very nice to give me this cloak, you didn't need to be mean," Zelda chided as she tucked Baby into Ganondorf's bed. Nabs rooted around the room, finally settling on some piled up towels in the corner.

"She probably did it more so to keep you inconspicuous than warm," he said, clearing off the table. "Gerudo like gossip, even in the middle of the night. What more to gossip about than a Hylian who resembles a dead princess on the arm of the king?"

"Didn't I say he was a bonehead?" Aveil said as she barged into the room, carrying a large serving plate and several mugs of hot tea. "My Lady has ginger hair, and her ears were covered because of the cold. In the dark, she would appear to be but a malnourished girl clinging to her savior the King. The little one was safely tucked into the wagon out of sight, so it looked like no more than a simple rescue. Nothing out of the ordinary but our choice of language. Excuse me for wanting my queen-to-be not to freeze."

Conceding, Ganondorf swiped one of the mugs and plopped down into his chair. "She already is your queen, we married a few days ago."

"Aww, congratulations on the wedding, My Lady!" Aveil smiled and gave Zelda a little bow. "But don't let the title intimidate you, we Gerudo don't put our queens on some kind of pedestal. The queen usually finds whatever niche she excels at and shares it with the rest of us. Like for example, my grandmother was a scholar and used her skill to further our people's education."

"I appreciate that, Aveil, but for right now, I just want to focus on taking care of my daughter," Zelda replied. "I'm not sure what all Ganondorf has told you, but things are about to change drastically and I need to make sure Baby can handle all of it."

Zelda helped Aveil serve the meal, then took a seat beside her. "Though, I am very interested in learning more about you and your people. Baby loves it when I tell her stories about the Gerudo, but I'm afraid my knowledge is limited to what I learned from the Royal Archive and from my nursemaid's fairy tales."

"You're in luck, My Lady," Aveil replied with a grin. "Nana, the grand master of our library, is fluent in Gerudo, Hylian, and even Sheikah. She has collected many accounts from the old ones and would be the best person to teach you about our past. She loves it when others show an interest in our heritage. Why, when my husband and his nephew stop in for the day, it's like she's struck gold."

A thought came to Zelda's mind at that moment. "Forgive me for prying, but... I didn't know it was common for Gerudo women to take husbands. There's always been this reputation of the Gerudo as self-sufficient women..."

"Well yeah, but it's a lot easier to raise babies when you have someone around to help. I'm not talking down on you, but Lord Ganondorf told me a little about what you went through with Baby. You probably had a lot of easily harvested meals in the forest, and had a cool climate to stockpile surplus goods. We harvest once a year out here in the harsh desert climate. Imagine doing that with a bunch of babies strapped to your back, or with one on the way. Hard."

Zelda bowed her head. "I'm sorry. I guess I bought into the prejudices I grew up with, that Gerudo just came into town to mate and then returned home."

"Gerudo with husbands is a relatively new thing, in the scheme of things. I'm the first in my family since Great Grampa Ganny to be married," Aveil said, with a teasing glance across the table. "Most of us have married Ordonians. Ordonians are very considerate, and despite their pacifist ways, they have always been willing to trade with us. It was natural that we began to mate with them, and marriage came after that. Some of them have even brought family with them. One of my friends has a step-daughter who loves her to pieces."

"See, Zelda, this is the Hyrule I want to make a reality," Ganondorf chimed in. "We see a little of it now- little Neera having a present and loving father, girls forming relationships with widowers and their children, Baby loving to study and be a part of both cultures... It's exhilarating!"

"Yes, it is," Zelda replied, and smiled at her husband. "A shame I didn't realize sooner."


	31. Formal Introduction

The next morning, Ganondorf formally introduced Zelda and Baby to the Gerudo. Many remembered Baby from her first visit, and just as Aveil had predicted, the Gerudo embraced her as their Little Princess. Several little girls wanted Baby to come play with them, though only one of them spoke enough Hylian to let her know so. Baby was shy and clung to Zelda, but did manage to promise to introduce them to Nabs.

The reaction to Zelda was more surprising. Ganondorf had thought it best to retract his lie and reveal Baby's true paternity first, then brought Zelda to the front as his queen. Nearly every single one of them cheered at her survival. Aveil explained it to her as divine intervention- the Gerudo believed they were on their way to reunification with the Hylians, and after hearing about the kind and gentle "people's princess", they had started to hope again. She was Hylia's avatar, Bearer of Wisdom, and once she was Queen of Hyrule, she would have the power to end the war.

News of her death crumbled any hope they had of peace, not to mention drove their king into depression. When their king suddenly came alive again after seven years of despair, the people had suspected the Goddesses were at work. Then the mysterious little girl with Hylian traits appeared, and now they know she is the daughter of their king and their hope for the future. The Gerudo praise Zelda for being Zelda, and for giving them Ganondorf back. They love her just as much as they would a Gerudo born queen.

After all the formalities were concluded, Aveil led Zelda and Baby to her private home so that they could calm down in peace.

"I'll be honest, I expected everyone to go nuts when you were revealed, but not to this extent. You'd have thought Hylia herself was standing on that stage," Aveil said as she opened the gate and ushered the girls in.

"Yes, that was a little overwhelming and I even understand a little of the Gerudo language. Poor Baby only heard the emotions." Zelda turned to her daughter in her arms, who was pouting rather seriously.

"I want my piggy."

Aveil heard the little grumble, and smiled. "I anticipated as much. Piggy is in the stable with Fado's horses. My husband is a rancher, he takes care of most of the animals so I asked him to build a little nest for your pig back here where it's cooler. My plot of land is the closest to Ordonia, so he thinks of it as a slice of his hometown."

Zelda followed Aveil to a nice sized barn, where Fado was busy shoveling hay. Right next to the barn was a newly constructed shelter, just big enough for one pig and one little girl to snuggle inside. Nabs was in front of it eating from a bowl of pig chow. A little boy was crouched down next to Nabs, but ran into the barn as soon as he saw the women approaching.

"Fado! What are you doing with that hay? I told you not to do that while wearing Neera on your back!" Aveil shook her head. "Your piggy's right in front of us, Baby. Excuse me while I go yell at my idiot husband."

Baby pouted until Zelda sat her on the ground beside Nabs. "She's right here, Baby. Can you hear her?"

"Yeah, Mama," Baby said, and rubbed her hands along the pig's back. "Nabs is probably confused because this is a new place."

"I bet you're right, Baby. But look what Mr. Fado made for you and Nabs," Zelda said, picking up Baby's hand and placing it along the shelter. "It's a little house for Nabs to sleep in." Zelda looked around for the little boy she saw earlier, thinking he might be interested in meeting Baby, but there was no trace of him.

Baby crawled inside the shelter, causing Nabs to follow. It was big enough for the two to lounge in, and sure enough, Baby conked out in a matter of minutes. Zelda sat next to the shelter and took in the scenery, and was soon joined by Aveil and her infant.

"So what do you think of our little farm?" Aveil asked as she sat next to Zelda. "I took some heat from the other girls for marrying such a woodsy guy, but they're just jealous they couldn't find someone who would build a ranch for them."

"It's a very lovely home," Zelda said with a smile. "Thank you for the little pig cabin, you really didn't have to..."

"Consider it a wedding present. You probably saw me yelling at my husband, Fado, and this is our daughter, Neera. She's about a year old."

"What a beautiful baby girl. I thought I saw a little boy earlier, but..."

"Oh, him." Aveil sighed. "That's Fado's nephew. Poor thing lost his mother when he was two, no father, and on top of that can't speak. I've tried teaching him to be a little more personable despite his difficulty, but he doesn't like being around people. He can hear, read, and write both languages, though, and loves going to the library. He would make an excellent friend for Baby, if only they could communicate."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hmm... Who could that little boy be...? ;)


	32. Courage

Baby woke up with a rumbling tummy a few hours later, and crawled out of her new piggy pen. She could hear the jolly voices of Aveil and her parents a short distance away, and moved toward them. Finding a rail, Baby held her hand along it and followed the voices.

Just then, she bumped into something and lost her footing. There was a whinny and a woman's shriek, and Baby suddenly felt herself tackled to the side.

Zelda was sitting in Ganondorf's lap, the two of them enjoying an evening picnic alongside Aveil and Fado. She kept glancing over toward the barn a few yards away, watching for Baby's feet poking out of the shelter. Ganondorf was recounting how he had once singlehandedly taken down a wooly mammoth, though several parts sounded highly embellished. She playfully bonked his shoulder, then turned back to the barn. Baby's feet were no longer sticking out from the shelter. Concerned, Zelda looked around and spotted Baby on the ground in the horse corral, just as a horse was rearing down on top of her.

"BAAAABY!"

Ganondorf and Fado took off for the corral in a blur, and arrived to find Baby perfectly safe, huddled in the arms of a sandy haired little boy.

* * *

_"Oww... my head hurts! What happened? ...Hey, wha-what is this? I... I can_ see _you..."_

_"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I hope I didn't hurt... Wait. Did, did_ I _just say that?"_

_"Well I certainly didn't! Did you push me? What's goin on? Where's Mama?"_

_"I don't know what's going on. I don't even know how come I can talk to you. I can't talk at all."_

_"You can't talk? But you are talking! I can hear you right now!"_

_"And you're looking at me, but I know you can't see anything. I watched your Mama help you find your piggy, then I watched her help you discover my uncle's present. That's how sighted people help the blind. You're blind."_

_"Yes, I am. But I can see you. And you can talk to me. Are we special? Is it cause we both have a disability?"_

_"I don't know. All I know is you were asleep in the piggy house, then you woke up and came out. You were probably looking for your Mama, but accidentally walked into the horse pen and scared Triumph, who woulda stomped you if I hadn't pushed you outta the way. Then we were here. It's like a dream..."_

_"How can I dream what you look like when I don't know how to see? That's silly. You're silly."_

_"My name's not silly, my name's Link!"_

* * *

"BABY!"

Ganondorf rushed over to the children huddling next to the corral as Fado restrained the horse. Baby sat up with a grumble, just in time for Ganondorf to scoop both of them up into a bear hug. "BABY, MY CHILD, ARE YOU OKAY?!"

"Ow, yeah, Papa, you're squeezing too tight! Let us go!"

Ganondorf sat them down just in time for Zelda to arrive in a panic and look them over. "Honey, are you okay? What happened?"

"Hi Mama. Link said I stumbled into the horse pen and he pushed me out of the way just as Triumph was going to stomp on me."

"Link?" Zelda leaned back in surprise and looked at the little boy sitting beside Baby. It was the same little boy she had seen a glimpse of earlier. The name brought back some memories, and pushing a little girl out of harm's way was certainly an act in line with those memories. But Aveil had made it clear that the little boy was mute. How could he have told her his name, let alone what had happened?

Fado overheard Baby, and came over. "Miss Baby, how did you know this horse is named Triumph? We just got him the other day, I haven't even told Aveil his name yet..."

"Link told me! It's really weird, after I bumped into something and fell down, I heard Mama screaming and the horse whinny, then Link pushed me. Then for a while everything was quiet, I sat up, and I could _see_ Link! And he talked to me!"

Zelda bit her lip in worry and turned to Ganondorf, who ordered Fado to send for the doctor. Baby started to get fussy when Zelda kept checking for a fever, and finally rolled out of her arms.

"Mamaaa! I'm telling the truth! Link, say something! Link? Where are you? Why can't I see you? Link?!" Baby reached out for him, though Aveil had a tight grip on the boy's waist. Link finally broke her grasp, and his left hand caught Baby's right.

A bright glow broke out the second the children's hands touched, and a faint hum filled the air. Ganondorf, Zelda, and Aveil watched in awe as the glow settled into matching Triforce marks on the backs of their hands, with the right most triangle highlighted.

Aveil gasped. "This is incredible!"

"By the Goddesses," Zelda said, her hand to her chest in amazement. "The Triforce of Courage... Borne by not one but two!"

"One of which is the offspring of two bearers," Ganondorf commented. "Never mind that her parents are both the mortal forms of gods and that she may be one herself. The Three certainly do like to complicate things, don't they?"

"Ganondorf, this is serious!" Zelda scolded, and knelt next to the children. She was concerned that the children might be burdened by painful memories or experiences of the previous holders. "Baby, Link, do you two feel okay? Does anything hurt, or do you feel any different when you touch each other?"

"Mama, I can see Link when I hold his hand," Baby said, with tears welling up in her eyes. "I can actually see something!" Link started to tear up, too, and hugged Baby. "...Link says he never thought he'd be able to talk to someone. We're really happy!"

"It must be a gift of the Golden Power," Zelda said, after wiping away the joyful tears that had come to her own eyes. "I think they share the Triforce of Courage, so it lets Baby see Link and it lets Link talk to Baby. It's a wonderful gift, and worth researching so we can understand it."

"Ugh."

Zelda looked up in alarm from hearing her husband grunt. "'Ugh?'"

"They're smiling at each other."

"...I don't understand. They're children. Children smile."

"Let me rephrase. My daughter is smiling at a boy named Link."

Now she understood. "Ganondorf Dragmire, he is a little child and you are a grown man. How can you be jealous?"

"I am not jealous," Ganondorf mumbled. "Forgive me if I have an aversion to the kid who has killed me in most of my previous lives becoming cozy with my daughter."

"Oh, love, you forget most of those kills were ordered by a girl named Zelda, and yet we're still together..." Zelda's words seemed to calm Ganondorf, so the adults sat back and watched Baby and Link get better acquainted. Baby even introduced Link to Nabs without any problems. When the children's excitement for their new gift no longer outweighed their hunger, they returned to their guardians and headed inside, never letting their hands go for an instant.

 

Art by [greencladprince](http://greencladprince.tumblr.com/)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess we all know who that little boy is now... :3


	33. Special Friends

Zelda and Aveil had a hard time prying the children apart. Link got out of bed and did his chores in a flash, just so he could be waiting for Baby when she woke up. The Gerudo of the fortress were surprised to see him so lively, since he usually hid behind Aveil or Fado's legs whenever they brought him to visit. Now he was more visible than ever, and even volunteered to be Zelda's guide as they settled in to life at Gerudo Valley.

Link and Baby spent all the time they could together. Unusual for Triforce bearers, neither remembered anything of their past lives, so they were safe to use their gift without pain. Baby introduced Link to every one of her stuffed animals, and even put on a concert for him with her lyre. Link took Baby to the Gerudo library, and told her all about the different kinds of books he liked to read. Using his part of the gift, he read his favorite storybook to her. They quickly discovered storytime was their favorite activity, and so the librarian helped them build a cozy corner where they could read all day if they wanted. That was where Zelda found them, asleep on top of each other.

"Oh, honey, look!" Zelda tugged on Ganondorf's arm as she motioned to the corner. "She must have dozed off while he was reading to her. I wondered where they ran off to..."

"I wholeheartedly encourage Baby to socialize and play with the other children," Ganondorf said, but then grumbled and added, "...though by 'other children' I had hoped it would be some of the other girls."

Zelda sighed. "Don't be mad at Link. He can't help who his ancestors are. Besides, Aveil and Fado have been raising Link for what, four years? And you just now made the connection with the Legendary Hero?"

"No, I knew who he was," Ganondorf admitted. "Aveil met Fado and married him a year after I met you. They were young but in love, so I told her to go for it. Then about a year later she came to me and asked for my permission to take the kid in after the mother died. They weren't sure at the time if he was the one or not, but a few years later Fado was cleaning out some of his sister's belongings and found a scrapbook connecting him to the Hero of Time."

"So all these years you had Courage under your nose..." Zelda thought for a moment, then patted Ganondorf's shoulder while sporting a crafty smile. "You're such a smart strategist. You've taken the Hero under your wing, you'll train him to be a fierce warrior, and in return he will protect and value your daughter's life just as much as he will protect and value her heart. Thank you for your foresight, my husband."

Zelda left Ganondorf speechless as she gathered the children up and took them back to the fortress to get them ready for dinner.

* * *

After a few days of settling in, Ganondorf had started putting the plan into motion. Aveil bid a sweet goodbye to her family, and told Link he would become the man of the house if Fado didn't stop doing farm work while wearing the baby on his back. She set off to rendezvous with Impa, while Ganondorf dealt with the new hiccup in his plan.

"Link says he's my escort, Papa, what's that mean?" Baby asked in the middle of her language lesson, causing Ganondorf to choke on his tea and Zelda to miss a stitch in her needlework.

"He said WHAT?! Zelda, you haven't been encouraging the boy, have you?" Ganondorf looked over at Zelda in disbelief, but she just shook her head.

"I told him we were going to be traveling soon like Mama said, and Link said he's gonna go too as my escort," Baby chimed in. "What's that? What's a escort?"

"An escort is like a guard, Baby," Zelda answered. "Though I think Link is a little young to be your guard. Why don't you take a break from lessons and go play with Nabs? I'll call you back in when break time is over."

"Okie!"

Once Baby ran out of the room, Zelda turned to Ganondorf. "How do you suppose we should handle this? Should we involve Link in the plan, now that he's dubbed himself our daughter's escort? What a romantic little boy..."

"Yes, romantic," Ganondorf grumbled. "Though I must admit the idea of having all three pieces of the Triforce on my side is highly attractive. It would certainly help our cause to bring him along. We wouldn't even need to let them know Baby has half of the Triforce, the kid's name and appearance should do it. You know how superstitious they are."

"You should at least start teaching Link how to hold a sword, then, or in the very least a slingshot," Zelda recommended. "I don't anticipate much of a resistance, but there is always a chance that they will try something. It makes me uneasy to think this way, but... they may try to kidnap Link if they feel there is a chance at making him follow their orders. If he cares for Baby- and I truly feel he does- they will not succeed, and thus may try to harm him."

"You are reading my mind," Ganondorf said. "I want to get the boy familiar with defense. Personal feelings about the matter aside, he is bonded to Baby and needs to be able to help her and keep her safe. And believe it or not... I think he can help her get to know the language. So I do not mind them being together that much."

Zelda sighed in relief. "That's good... I was worried you were going to be one of those fathers who shelters his daughter from those evil little things called boys."

"I wouldn't be so cruel as to deprive Baby of her privacy like that," Ganondorf replied with a snicker. "But the second Link hits puberty, _he's_ going to be the one with an escort."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Papadorf thinks boys are evil. They are rotten, evil little creatures who only want one thing. He knows because not only was he raised amongst a troupe of women, but he too was once a boy.


	34. A Speech, A Demonstration, and A Kiss

"Go on...!"

"...My name is Baby. I'm blind. My mommy is Zelda and my daddy is Ganondorf. I'm six. I like to play with my pig and my friend Link. My favorite food is Papa's broth and yummy rice. I like kitties. The end."

A small crowd of Gerudo cheered as Baby finished talking and immediately buried herself in Ganondorf's chest. Link hopped down from his seat on Zelda's lap in the audience and patted Baby's back, congratulating her and assuring her that she didn't mess up. This was her first time speaking Gerudo in front of others, and she did it flawlessly.

"What did I tell you, my wife? Our Baby is a natural linguist!" Ganondorf boasted from the stage, pleased that she had progressed to simple conversation in only a month and a half. "She's picked up the language almost as fast as this lad's picked up the cutlass." He then turned to Link. "Are you ready for your demonstration, boy?"

Link nodded, then ran off stage where a guard was waiting with two sabers. He brought them back and handed one to Ganondorf, before escorting Baby to Zelda. "Don't worry, I'm gonna win," he whispered to her, before running back on stage.

"Alright Link of Ordon, you know the rules. Strike at me as many times as you can before I strike at you thrice. The current record is held by your mother, who landed twenty seven hits. Begin!"

Baby listened closely once Ganondorf signaled the start of the contest. Zelda made it clear to her that Link would be in no danger, that the "striking" Ganondorf referred to would only be the clashing of their blades. She counted very carefully, and after hearing multiple hits she started getting nervous. Was that twenty? Or Thirty? One more clang and she heard the guard call an end to the contest.

"Lord Ganondorf lands three hits, contest ended! Master Link's final count... thirty two!"

"Excellent," Ganondorf cheered, patting Link on the back. "You've improved rather well. Aveil will be proud to know you've beaten her score. I am confident that with continued training, you will make a worthy escort for my Princess, after all."

Link perked up and gave Ganondorf a bow in thanks, then hurried over to Baby so they could discuss their respective moments of accomplishment. Zelda let the children run off to play with some of the younger girls, and joined her husband by the stage.

"Any day now," Ganondorf said, throwing his arm around Zelda's shoulder as he watched Baby and Link running off. "The troops are ready, the Ordonians have ceased trade with Castle Town, and our backup plan..."

"...Will hopefully not be necessary," Zelda interrupted with a frown. "I mean, if we had to, we could demonstrate that we control the entire Triforce. But they're babies. We don't know what kind of strain separating it would put on them, and it could possibly take away their ability to communicate. Besides, I'm content to go with the original plan. Reveal that Baby _Hylia_ is our daughter. Use their superstition against them."

"If you want to go that route, you could always pretend Link was your kid," Ganondorf mumbled, causing Zelda to stare at him like he grew a second head.

"You are off your rocker."

"I could just see the look on their faces," he chuckled, "thinking that they almost aborted the Hero of Time's descendant... Ha, that would be good."

"Baby is my baby and you will not imply otherwise!"

"I'm not saying you have to deny her!" he corrected. "Just walk in with Link as your 'knight in training' or whatever, and let their minds run wild. You, alive. You, walking in with sixish year old blonde kid. Blonde kid who, when wearing the right outfit, screams 'hey, you got a Master Sword and an ocarina around here somewhere?' Amirite?"

"That would be an interesting twist, indeed," said Impa, who at that moment appeared from within the shadows. "What kind of treasure have you unearthed this time?"

"Impa!" Zelda ran over and embraced her nursemaid. "Oh, I'm so happy to see you! It feels like forever since we parted..."

"Indeed, it was so lonely working in Castle Town for your sake and not having you near," Impa said as she returned the embrace. "Now what's this about a Master Sword? You haven't gone into the Sacred Forest Meadow, have you?"

"No, nothing like that," Zelda answered. "It's more like..."

"Mama, Mama!"

Zelda, Impa, and Ganondorf looked up as a very blushed Baby came running towards them, followed by the giggling group of girls from earlier, one of whom was dragging a visibly embarrassed Link behind her.

"What is it, honey?" Zelda asked as she caught Baby and picked her up.

She fidgeted for a moment, then blurted out, "...Link kissed me!"

"That's adorable!" Zelda cooed in excitement, and turned to Ganondorf, who looked like he was trying to decide who to murder in Link's stead. Impa, unaware of the situation, instinctively moved her hand to her weapon. Zelda noticed, and motioned for her to calm down.

"He kissed her on the cheek," the little girl holding Link hostage announced in Hylian. "It was so cute, Baby was telling him how happy she was that he beat Miss Aveil's record against King Ganondorf. And then we all said how we thought her speech was nice, so he translated for the other girls. Then he gave her a big smoochy on cheek like this, mwaa mwaa!"

"He did, did he..." Ganondorf growled, though for Baby's sake he did his best to refrain from grabbing Link and shaking him until all the bright ideas fell out of his head.

Link was trying to his best to shrink himself into the ground, and by now his cheeks were nearly the color of his sisters' hair. Zelda sent a warm smile his way to counteract the nasty glares coming from Ganondorf, and eventually Link stopped trying to get away. He kept averting his eyes, though. He still didn't have enough courage to face the angry Papa Boar.

"Baby, why don't you introduce Nanny to your special friend?" Zelda suggested, sensing Impa's curiosity about him and eager to change the subject before having to restrain Ganondorf.

"NANNY'S HERE?! NANNY!" Baby lurched out of Zelda's arms, though Impa expertly caught her. "Nanny oh my gosh I missed you so much! Hugs, huuugs!"

"Oh my, you did miss me, didn't you?" Impa gave her a big hug, then turned to the group of children eagerly watching them. None of them had ever seen a Sheikah before, but they all heard rumors about how strong they were and got excited that Impa was here. "But it looks like you've made some friends to keep you company... I'm so proud, Baby. Now which one is your special friend?"

The little girl in charge of wrangling shoved Link forward, and Baby reached out and caught his hand. As she touched him their Triforce marks lit up, making Impa gasp. As soon as Baby could see Link she blushed again and shied away, mumbling, "you didn't hafta kiss me..."

"...I wanted to," he mumbled back, barely loud enough for Baby to hear. Impa studied the young Ordonian boy, and was intrigued by how he appeared to be speaking yet she heard no words. The small knife hanging from his belt as well as the Triforce shining on his hand gave her more than enough clues as to his identity, however.

"This boy is the one you called Link?"

"Yup!" Baby answered. "Link's my soulmate."

"WHAT?!" Ganondorf roared, nearly knocking Zelda over and causing the group of girls to giggle before running off.

Link started shaking his head in panic, and fearing the end of his life was near, he hurriedly gave Baby a lesson in vocabulary.

"Huh? But Nevé said that word means 'special friend', isn't that what we are?" Baby's pouty face made Link blush in turn, while Ganondorf directed his glares to the fleeing group of girls and made a mental note to have a talk with Nevé's mother.

" _Shahzadi_ , their hands..." Impa inquired, by now used to Ganondorf's dramatics.

"Ah, yes. We discovered shortly after arriving that Baby and Link each possess one half of the Triforce of Courage," Zelda explained. "From what I've been able to figure out, they were both born on the same day, in the same part of the forest no less, each sharing some unusual circumstance behind their birth. But we will explain it all in time. Shall we have lunch?"

"Good idea," Ganondorf grumbled, reaching out and snatching Link away from Baby.

"Hey, PAPA!"

"Your Mama will take your Nanny and you inside and clean you up for lunch, while I have a little talk with the Princess Guard here, understood?"

Zelda frowned, and took Link back from her brooding husband's arms. "Oh, stop it. They're little kids sowing the seeds of love. You said it yourself, he's your daughter's escort. There's no better escort than a man who is by his beloved's side every second of the day."

Ganondorf was silent for several moments, then turned and followed his wife into the fortress. "...Just because I've already resigned myself to their marriage doesn't mean I have to act like it."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Poor Gan, he's so adorable when he's pouting. Bond with him while he's young, Gan, it will make your life easier. :3
> 
> And with this chapter, all of the main chapters are caught up with tumblr (with the exception of a few little tidbits that fit better over there). I have also commissioned two drawings for the story, the picture of the two holding hands which I've inserted at the end of the "Courage" chapter, and a family portrait for the cover which you can see [here](http://defunctzombie.tumblr.com/post/130715304029/ganondorf-zelda-and-introducing-little-baby). The family portrait came first, so it is monochrome.


	35. Back Where It All Started

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well folks, sorry for the long one but it's what you've been waiting for, the big climax! :3

At dawn, Ganondorf hunched down under the north Hyrule field bridge, holding Zelda in his arms. The two of them kissed, then Zelda held tightly to his chest. She was dressed in the Sheikah armor Impa had given her after Baby was born, the same armor she used to sneak into Ordon Village. Scarves and a mask hid her face, and a long cloak further concealed her.

"Don't be scared, my love," Ganondorf murmured into her ear as he held her head. "Aveil and I will be right there with her, and her identity will not be revealed until you come in. By then Impa will already be in the room, and we have the royal guard on our side. Baby will be fine."

"My duty is to protect the Princess," Impa said to Ganondorf from the sidelines. "I will be counting on you and Aveil to guard the children, should hell break loose." She then placed a comforting hand on Link's shoulder, who stood at her side prepared for battle in the most ironic of outfits- it had taken Zelda a week to make, but she had constructed a perfect replica of the green tunic and hat worn by the Hero of Time. They had decided the more they spooked the council, the better. "Remember lad, keep your cloak closed and do not don your hat until Zelda tells you to."

Link nodded, and pulled up his hood. The plan was that Ganondorf, Aveil, and Baby would enter the city, demanding an audience with the king. Zelda and Link would act as Impa's spies and follow them, meeting up with her in the palace. It was a common tactic for young Sheikah to accompany their elders, and was the perfect disguise.

Impa then stood straight. "If everything is set, I must depart. I will be in the throne room, as I am expected on security detail. The guards should show you no resistance. If they do..."

"I'll think of something," Ganondorf replied with confidence.

"Alright." Impa came over and kissed Zelda's cheek, then hugged her. "I will see you inside."

Zelda embraced her with a heavy heart. "Goodbye, Nanny."

"This is not goodbye," Impa whispered with a smile, then disappeared into the shadows.

"...Are you ready, love?"

Zelda turned back to her husband and sighed. "...Yes. As ready as I'll ever be. I just don't want to wake Baby yet. I feel this will be hardest on her."

"Oh, come here." Ganondorf pulled Zelda close for one more hug, but stopped when he felt something strange on her back. "...What's this? Are you wearing a weapon behind your cloak?"

Ganondorf tried to inspect it, but Zelda pleaded for him to stop. "No, Gan, don't."

He ignored her plea, and fished the scabbard from her back. Once he saw it, he immediately dropped it in surprise. "Zelda! Where in the name of the Goddesses did you get that?!"

"I told you not to..." she sighed, and watched as Link bent down and picked it up for her. "This was Impa's idea," she said, unsheathing the only other relic that could help their cause- the holy Master Sword itself.

"Just what do you plan to do with that?" he growled, eyes dimming from the sheen reflecting off the blade.

"Hopefully nothing," she answered. "But if necessary, we will use it to defend the children."

" _We_."

"Yes, we." Zelda grabbed Ganondorf's hand and wrapped it around the sword's handle, proving to him that it was not his enemy. "Ganondorf, the Goddesses trust you. They gave your daughter a piece of their Golden Power, and they blessed you with a family. You aren't Demise. They know you are benevolent."

The sword felt small in Ganondorf's hand, almost like a knife compared to the blade he normally wore. He really had no desire to wield it after having been killed by it so many times. But his desires meant nothing when it came to the safety of the children.

Taking one last look at the blade, he handed it back to Zelda. "...Alright. But only if we need it."

Zelda nodded and sheathed the blade, then tucked it away. She then took Link's hand, and went over to a tent where Aveil stood guard. Aveil smiled, and lifted the flap.

"She's still fast asleep, My Lady."

Zelda nodded and crawled inside, where Baby was tucked into a small sleeping bag. Her hair and clothes had been done up in the Gerudo style, though Zelda had worried that she would be cold and so added a little shawl to the outfit.

"Baby... Honey, time to wake up..."

Baby rolled around, not too eager to get out of her sleeping bag until Zelda leaned in and kissed her nose.

"Mamaaaaa... No kissies... Sleepy..."

"I know my baby, but we have to do this. Today is the big day, then it will all be over." Zelda hoped that was the case, but even she couldn't be certain what the future held. "I brought Link with me..."

Baby yawned and reached a hand out, catching Link's fingers. "Get up, sleepy," he prodded, using his thumb to rub the junction between her thumb and forefinger, a gesture he knew she wasn't too fond of.

"Nyaaaah... Okie, I'm up..."

Once Zelda had Baby up and out of the tent, the five key players sat down for one last meal and strategy meeting. "Remember, Aveil, you have to notice Zelda and be suspicious of her," Ganondorf said. "Two Sheikah following you can't be good. Their Hylian masters are dishonest."

"You don't have to convince me of that," she snorted.

"Baby, honey, you're going to hear a lot of strange things," Zelda explained next. "Some of them are going to be rude. Remember what I told you about how some Hylians think the Gerudo are bad, and remember that those people are wrong."

"I know, Mama. Gerudo aren't bad, Gerudo are really nice."

"That's the kind of kid Hyrule needs as its Princess," Aveil mumbled with a smile, and nudged Ganondorf in the side.

"Make sure you stay quiet unless I say it's okay to talk, Baby," Ganondorf said once he shook off his grin. "If you get scared, I want you to use that magic spell I taught you, okay?"

In addition to teaching Baby how to speak Gerudo, Ganondorf had spent the last month teaching Baby how to call him using telepathy. Since she could only access her Triforce abilities when she was with Link, he had to use the natural magic she inherited instead. Right now she could only call to him and hear him in her head, but it was a comfort.

"Do the troops know what to do?" Zelda asked, to which Aveil shook her head.

"Yes, our forces are ready to counteract the Hylian troops should they choose to storm the castle," she answered. "I have four units surrounding the city, with an elite unit positioned in the spillway beneath the castle. That unit is the quickest to reach you should Impa's royal guard prove not to be on our side."

"Then we are ready," Ganondorf declared, and snuffed out their fire.

* * *

Ganondorf strode through town, Baby in his arm and Aveil at his heel. Villagers moved from his way immediately, and the usual amount of frightened guards shook their spears at him as he passed. Aveil played her part perfectly, every so often throwing a glance over her shoulder at the cloaked figures that seemed to be following them.

"Sir, we're being followed."

"Good."

The Gerudo king pressed onward, up the streets of North Castle Town into the castle courtyard, where a pair of familiar guards stood watch.

"Lord Ganondorf, back so soon? You normally make yearly peace trips, and yet you're back after barely a season," the senior guard exclaimed, this being the very same guard who broke the news of Zelda's passing.

"I have another urgent matter I must bring to your king's attention. Let me pass," he barked, pleased when the guard ordered the door open. The guard raised an eyebrow at Baby, and let out a tiny gasp as they walked by.

"...I think that one knows," Aveil mumbled in Gerudo, keeping a straight face as they entered.

"He probably does, he remembered Zelda's beauty mark and was the one who told me about the resistance movement," Ganondorf replied. "He loved the 'little princess' and has six kids, so he probably would see a resemblance. Figures."

"Let's hope he stays out here, then."

Once they were through the gate and on their way to the throne room, Aveil surveyed the surroundings. She reported in Gerudo. "We've lost our spies, but we've gained an escort."

"Good. She's probably preparing the boy now. The escort?"

"Royal guardsmen have been following us since the gate, but they're ones I've trained."

"Deep breaths... Ready, Pumpkin?" Baby squeezed Ganondorf's arm in response, just as he reached the throne room. He looked to Aveil for her conformation, and without further delay threw open the doors and stepped inside. "Harkinian..!"

The King of Hyrule and all of the royal advisors were in attendance, as Impa said they would be. They turned their attention to the three Gerudo at the entrance, who didn't even wait for permission before barging up to the dais.

"Ganondorf?! What is the meaning of this?! How dare you come before us uninvited?" the king shouted, clearly unprepared for such a visit. Impa stood behind him, pretending to have her guard up. She made eye contact with Ganondorf for a brief moment, before casually directing her gaze to the two row council box.

Seated in the front near the door was Anju, whose eyes widened when she glimpsed the little girl in Ganondorf's arms. She shot a glance to Impa, who made the slightest of nods before resuming her staged apprehension. Anju did her best to hide the satisfaction on her face, upon seeing what could truly be considered her first life saved. After being told of Zelda's supposed death, Anju grew highly suspicious of the chief physician, and did a little investigation into the doctor's sudden trip to Kasuto. He had no business there, and could not have made it back so quickly unless it was a day trip. She therefore suspected that whoever poisoned Zelda bribed him to go, expecting that Anju's lack of experience would ensure the princess miscarried. Her suspicions were confirmed when Impa approached her with the plan.

"I have come before you because I am tired of being a second class citizen," Ganondorf shouted in anger, after spotting Impa's signal. "I am here to demand that you surrender your kingdom to me!"

The chamberlain laughed, and stood from his chair closest to the king. "What? You dare spew such nonsense?! You have no claim to this throne!"

"For starters, you and I are of the same earth, as much as your idiotic ancestors wish to forget," Ganondorf hissed at the king, ignoring the councilman who spoke in his place. "But second, all the claim I need is right here in my arms." That was when he bounced Baby, making her smile.

"So you knocked up one of your desert sluts, big deal," the chancellor scoffed, making Aveil hiss.

"Oh, my wife is no slut," Ganondorf said with a grin. "And my daughter is every bit the rightful heir to this kingdom. Show them, my Baby, show them what the Goddesses have given you."

"Yes, Papa," Baby said, and reached under her shawl. The entire council recoiled in shock as she produced the one and only sacred lyre, the very same said to be owned by Hylia herself. Their panic increased as Baby gave it a light strum, and the matron nearly fainted from the shock.

"You... you dirty, rotten thieves!" the chaplain stood and shouted, his face redder than Ganondorf's hair. "How DARE you steal such a holy relic?! And to defile it by letting that filthy child's fingers touch the same strings as Her Grace..."

" _Fucking bastard_ ," Ganondorf hissed. "We'll show you... Baby, play the lullaby!"

Baby obliged and began playing her mother's favorite lullaby, sending the chaplain and several other council members into a frenzy. Ganondorf's gamble paid off, and eventually the king himself was riled into action.

"Enough!" Harkinian shouted, and stood from his throne. "Guards! Take that foul beast into custody for treason and theft, and throw his woman and child into the dungeons!"

The room stood still as Harkinian's order echoed off the walls, without a single guard moving to obey. The council members looked around bewildered as he repeated the order, yet the guards still did not move. Impa smirked and turned to her left, where General Alfonzo stood waiting.

King Harkinian turned and glared at them. "What is the meaning of this?! Arrest him!"

Impa and Alfonzo strode forth, but continued past Ganondorf to the main doors. With a dramatic flourish, they pulled them open and allowed a ghost to enter the throne room. She was a slender ghost, dressed in a pink breasted gown with gold shoulder pauldrons. Her hair was pulled back and braided past the neck, with a charm fastened at the tail. A long scabbard hung on her back, the blue and green handle sparkling in the torchlight. But most frightening of all was the child that accompanied her, a child garbed in sacred green.

The air became deathly silent the second Zelda set foot inside that throne room. As she and Link marched up to the dais, Ganondorf studied the reactions of the council. As expected only Anju was able to keep her color, for the rest of them were white as sheets.

"You are dead," the chamberlain mumbled as Zelda stopped in front of him, causing her to turn his way. She merely stared at him, until he became uncomfortable and shirked away.

"Come, Link," Zelda said, taking his hand and moving beside Ganondorf. In that instant one could hear gasps and the sound of chairs scraping against the floor, as their occupants slid backward from hearing the legendary hero's name. A few murmured to each other in disbelief, but the chancellor was the one who stood and formally addressed her.

"This... this is some kind of trick. What foul plot have you conjured, demon Gerudo?!"

"I assure you, Chancellor Cobal, I am no imposter," Zelda declared, before removing her right glove and holding the back of her hand high for everyone to see. The Triforce of Wisdom shone brightly at her request, scaring him back into his seat. "My child and I are very much alive."

The council's murmuring increased at the mention of her child, with several glares directed at Link. Link noticed, and for show huddled closer to Zelda and intertwined their fingers.

"But we saw your dead body!" the matron interjected. "Impa brought it in here, crying like a twit! They even made me swap it out with the fake one..."

The man seated next to the matron hurriedly covered her mouth, making Aveil snicker and Ganondorf raise his brow. "Now this is all very interesting, considering how it was my people who supposedly murdered her," he said, making a point to face the very confused royal guard.

"Yes, Ganondorf and his people have been nothing but kind and protective toward me and my child," Zelda said, before turning to Impa who had joined her at her side. "Impa recognized the danger this pitiful excuse of a council placed me in after its 'decision' seven years ago, and took me away to a safe place where I could give birth."

Zelda's expression then became hostile, even to an extent that startled Ganondorf. "You murderous bastards tried to kill my child, simply because my pregnancy interfered with your succession plans. The Goddesses are offended by such brazen behavior! Not only that, but you made one big mistake. You never bothered to find out exactly _whose_ child you tried to kill!"

All of the council members turned to Link, but Zelda merely laughed. "Link is part of my family and the descendant of the Hero of Time, but alas, you lot are wrong if you think he is my blood. Link is here because though you did not take my child's life, you took my child's sight and he must offer support. Despite your efforts, my child has been blessed by the Goddesses, as a child born between races at odds. My child is Baby Hylia, daughter of Ganondorf Dragmire!"

The council members gasped as Ganondorf handed Baby to Zelda, stunned even more by the affection Baby showed her mother once reunited. Ganondorf's prediction about the happy family versus the withered council came true, as Impa could see smiles on several guards faces when they saw their princess and her daughter embracing.

Zelda kissed Baby's cheek, and rubbed her hair. "Hello my Baby, sorry I took so long..."

"It's okay, Mama," Baby responded, and laid her head against Zelda's shoulder.

"I told you her father wasn't scum," Zelda couldn't help but brag, as the council members collected their jaws from the floor. Her attention turned to her father, who until this point had remained entirely silent. "Father, surely you see the resemblance between Baby Hylia and myself? Do you not agree that a marriage with Ganondorf seven years ago could have proven far better for this country than a poisoning and a cover up? You would have had a strong line of succession then, instead of this desperate scrambling for a wife and heir. Hyrule would be unified, the Goddesses would be pleased, and the people wouldn't have to suffer. Why couldn't you just stand up to the council?"

Harkinian averted his eyes as if in thought, then stood from his throne and approached Zelda. He studied her and Baby for a moment, before sharply smacking her across the face. Baby screamed and Zelda stumbled backward out of fright, nearly dropping Baby though Ganondorf quickly caught both of them. He knelt down, allowing Zelda and Baby to sit and rest against him.

"Spreading your legs for that Goddess forsaken pig?! You've inherited your mother's stupidity along with that damn mole on your face!" Harkinian shouted, as Impa tackled him to the floor.

"How DARE you lay a hand on my Zelda," Impa seethed, her forearm digging against Harkinian's throat as he thrashed against the ground.

"Do no speak to me about dares, Sheikah traitor," he wheezed. "You go against your blood oath with this act of treason. All of you will hang, I will see to it!"

"You have no power anymore, Harkinian," Ganondorf growled, pulling the Master Sword from Zelda's back and slamming it into the ground a hair's breadth from Harkinian's ear. "Oh, and if that blade frightens you, wait until you see this. Link, take Baby's hand!"

Link did as instructed and came over to Baby, smoothing her hair to calm her down as he took her hand. The glow of their Triforce appeared, and Ganondorf called forth his own. "My wife, our child, her companion, and I control the entire Golden Power. If exposing your plot to murder Princess Zelda's child and your responsibility for her disappearance does not sway the people of Hyrule to renounce your rule, then we will take your kingdom by force. Aveil!"

Aveil gave a shout in Gerudo, causing two Gerudo warriors to drop from the rafters. Those two flanked the council box, then turned to their king for orders.

"Royal guardsmen, you are witness to what has occurred today," Ganondorf said, addressing the soldiers around the room. "You are also aware of the futility of the ongoing war, and the dwindling prosperity of your people. Would you need additional testimony before taking my side? Then look no further than your own General!"

Alfonzo came forward, and turned to the other council members. "You remember how I said the Princess's pregnancy was the will of the Goddesses, and that I was against termination? If you had only listened to me seven years ago..."

"Listen to _you_? You're a traitor," Doctor Rhames hissed.

"No, _you_ are!" Anju interjected, standing from her seat and facing the council. "Admit it, Doctor, you weren't in Kasuto for anything important. You only went away so that when Princess Zelda showed symptoms of her poisoning, I would be the only one around to treat her, and my 'inexperience' would assure loss of the baby. Then when we found out the baby survived, you magically show up and send me away so I would be out of town when you decided to fake the Princess's death!"

Several of the royal guards began whispering to each other at this revelation, bringing a smile to Ganondorf's face. "Well? Have we proven our point?"

"Take the entire council save Anju and Alfonzo into custody," Zelda ordered of the guard, her head bowed in disappointment. She looked over to her father, who was still struggling under Impa's hold. "What should we do with Father?" she whispered to Ganondorf as the royal guard obeyed and arrested the council members.

"I could use a new rug for my strategy room..." he joked, before receiving a smack from Aveil.

" _Shahzadi_ , may I make a suggestion?" Impa asked over her shoulder, still holding Harkinian. "His crimes are unforgivable, and his punishment should be proportional to the pain he's caused. I think the only fitting course of action would be exile- with the _shabah_."

"Exile? Don't let him get off light," Ganondorf scoffed, until he looked at Zelda and saw her face was pale. "Huh? Love, what's wrong? What does _shabah_ mean?"

"...The Shadow Temple," she whispered, making Ganondorf flinch. It was the hell of hells, known to be the royal family's secret execution grounds in the years before the Hero of Time. When Ganondorf seized the Triforce in that era, he used it for a killing arena as well, and ever since his defeat, it was sealed off as monsters and demons continued to breed inside. Only the descendant of the Sage of Shadow could access it, and once inside, there was no way out.

"I take it back, that is a perfect punishment," Ganondorf said with a nasty grin. "Impa, you are a brilliant woman and I am proud you are part of our family. Wouldn't you agree, Zelda?"

Zelda gave Ganondorf a tired smile, then turned to Baby and Link, who were huddled together in her lap. "Baby... Honey, are you okay?"

"I'm okay, Mama, but..." Baby kept a tight hold of Link's hand, and raised her other hand to Zelda's sore cheek. "...There, all better. I'm sorry that mean man hit you, Mama."

Zelda gasped in amazement, and raised a hand to her cheek. The ache and redness from her father's strike had completely vanished. She looked to Ganondorf, who was filled with pride. Apparently the Triforce had given her more abilities than they realized. "Oh, Baby, thank you! You have the gift of healing..."

Baby smiled, then gripped her shawl. "Yeah, um... So is what you said true? The evil people tried to kill me and that's why I can't see?"

"...Yes, Baby. That's why we lived in the forest and not with Papa. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner." Tears ran down Zelda's face, and she hugged the children tight.

"Oh Mama, don't cry!" Baby said, rubbing Zelda's back. "Who cares if I can't see, I got a Mama and Papa who love me, my special friend Link to read to me, and my piggy and the girls in the village to play with me. That's what's important. Right, Papa?"

"Right," Ganondorf answered, helping Zelda to her feet. "Well, Mommy, are we ready to face the people? I imagine rumors have started to swirl by now, especially if the guard were seen escorting the council to the dungeons."

"...I suppose we must," Zelda answered, setting Link and Baby down and straightening her dress. She then instructed Anju and Alfonzo to call the citizens to North Castle Town for an important announcement. Aveil came over and helped Impa restrain Harkinian, while Ganondorf withdrew the Master Sword from the floor.

"Try anything funny, and this goes down your throat," he warned, before taking Harkinian by the collar and pushing him forward. "Lead the way, my Queen."

Zelda took Baby's hand, and with a deep breath and her head held high, marched out of the throne room toward the castle courtyard.


	36. Coming Clean

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I had this done months ago but forgot to post it!

Every inch of North Castle Town was filled with confused and concerned citizens, waiting anxiously to see what all the fuss was about. It had started this morning when the Gerudo king appeared for the second time in less than four months, then there were rumors that Gerudo guards had been spotted outside the city. The last straw was when some of the castle staff saw guardsmen arresting the royal advisors. By the time Anju and Alfonzo arrived to call a gathering, everyone had already shown up demanding answers.

"General Alfonzo, what is going on?" a nervous guard cried from his post at the gate.

"Yeah, the people have all but stormed the gate," his partner, the senior guard added. "What has Lord Ganondorf done? I thought we were trying to avoid war, not start it..."

"Nothing to fear, gentlemen," Impa said as she caught up to Alfonzo. "Everything is well."

"General Impa!" The guards immediately saluted.

"Aye, though it's not me you need be saluting," Impa said with a grin, and motioned to the castle entrance. Zelda stood there nervously, Baby holding one hand and Ganondorf the other.

Several guards gasped and dropped their weapons. "Does this answer your question, Captain?" Alfonzo joked to the senior guard, as Impa took Ganondorf's place at Zelda's side so that he and Aveil could properly restrain Harkinian.

Zelda led Baby and Link forward, stopping in front of the senior guard. "Forgive me, but are you the guard who broke the news of my death to Ganondorf seven years ago?"

The senior guard could barely process her words, let alone speak. He saw this little girl in her coffin! She can't be... "A... alive...?"

"Yes, good sir," she said and smiled. "I have Impa and Anju to thank for that."

"The little princess... You're alive! Alive!" The guard suddenly grabbed Zelda into a bear hug, startling her but eventually causing her and the others to laugh. "Oh, Golden Goddesses above, thank you for giving our princess back to us!"

Alarmed that her hand was suddenly empty, Baby became nervous and tugged on Zelda's dress. "...Mama? Are you okay?"

The guard let Zelda go, and glanced down to see one child looking up at him and one clinging to her mother. "Hey, the little one from earlier! I saw her as Lord Ganondorf entered the castle. Did she say 'Mama'? You're really a mama?"

"Yes," Zelda said as she scooped Baby up into her arms. "This is my daughter, Baby, and her best friend, Link. I understand this whole situation must be terribly confusing, but we were just about to go before the people and explain everything..."

"I understand, Your Majesty. You know, when I saw her earlier, she made me think of you. General Impa told us change would be coming, though she did not tell us the specifics."

"What is your name, Captain?"

"Shiro, Your Majesty."

Zelda thought for a moment, then patted Shiro's shoulder. "Captain Shiro, you may not realize it, but you were a very important player in what happened today, and we owe you our gratitude. You will be rewarded, and we will see to it that your family is provided for."

"Me?" Shiro bowed and shook his head. "Oh no, Majesty, I'm not worthy of any reward! Simply knowing you are alive is reward enough!"

"Oh, shush, you talked me out of burning Hyrule to the ground seven years ago. That in itself deserves a reward," Ganondorf piped in from the rear.

"We better not delay any longer," Impa advised. "I can hear the crowd on the other side of the gate getting very restless. Shall I go first?"

"Let me go first," Ganondorf sneered, shoving Harkinian forward with the Master Sword under his chin. "Show them their rat of a king."

"No, that would be foolish," Zelda interjected. "Impa and Alfonzo go first, to calm the crowd. Then I'll come in with the children, and you follow me. If you go in first, with him, the crowd wouldn't understand why and they might riot."

The generals nodded, and went out to quiet the people. Shiro offered to accompany Zelda's party for extra protection, which she accepted. Once it sounded as though everyone had calmed down, Impa came back. "It's time."

Zelda held Baby tight as the gate opened, and marched out onto the walkway. There was a little balcony right above the steps into town, where Alfonzo was waiting. Once Zelda reached him he ducked out of sight, leaving her staring at the entire population of Castle Town.

"Um..." Zelda paused, and tried to start the most logical way. "I owe you all an explanation..."

The crowd was silent as they studied the figure before them, most unable to believe what they were seeing. As Zelda thought up what to say, a young girl shoved her way past the soldiers at the front and came running up to Zelda.

"Are you really Zelda?"

Zelda regarded her with curiosity, before handing Baby to Impa and kneeling down beside her. "Yes, I am. What's your name?"

"Don't you remember me?"

Zelda thought for a second, before noticing the silver clip in the girl's hair. "...Wait, yes I do! I met you years ago at the Orphanage, and gave you my hair clip. Your name is Kaylee!"

"Mamma, it _is_ her!" the girl yelled, jumping up and hugging Zelda. "The princess is alive!" The crowd suddenly burst into cheers as the girl ran back to her mother.

"Everyone, everyone, please! I must explain!" Zelda shouted, after giving the people a moment to celebrate. "I understand you are happy to see me, but there are things you must know, first and foremost why I was declared dead when I am most certainly not!"

Zelda turned to Ganondorf, and beckoned him forward. When the crowd saw their king on the end of a blade they immediately got silent. "Since this pig has no voice of his own, I will speak for him," Ganondorf barked. "Your king is the one responsible for Zelda's supposed death."

Gasps and whispers rang out through the crowd, as Impa stepped forth to testify. "Lord Ganondorf is correct. Princess Zelda was never dead, instead she was sentenced to a life of banishment for going against the royal council. The king and his conspirators knew Zelda was loved by the people, and since they knew you would not stand for such a punishment, they lied and said that she had been killed by the Gerudo."

Zelda took Baby from Impa's arms, and turned to the people. "My 'crime' was that I had chosen Lord Ganondorf as my mate. A little under seven years ago, we conceived this beautiful child together. However, the council did not approve of our union. They had plans to use me as a pawn and marry me off to whomever suited their fancy, and unfortunately my pregnancy interfered with those plans."

"Tell them what you did," Ganondorf hissed, pressing the blade closer to Harkinian's neck.

"..."

"TELL THEM!"

"That gutless son of a bitch poisoned the princess!" one of the soldiers yelled, after it became clear Harkinian wasn't going to talk. The crowd erupted in anger, many of them calling for Harkinian's execution on the spot.

_"How could you poison the little princess?!"_

_"You poisoned a pregnant woman?!"_

_"She was always so kind, what did she do to deserve such a thing?!"_

_"Blessed Zelda always made time for the people, why would the council go against her?"_

_"Those bastards! They should all be hanged!"_

"His seneschal was the one who did it, and I have already executed him," Impa boasted. "But the poisoning was really an attempt to terminate Zelda's pregnancy! That stunt nearly killed Zelda, and caused her innocent child to be born without sight!"

The mothers in the crowd scoffed and lamented Baby's affliction, as the men continued to call for Harkinian's head. "People, please," Zelda pleaded, "we have already passed judgement on my father for what he has done. What we ask now is for your support."

"You have it!" the royal guards cried, causing the crowd to cheer. "Long live Queen Zelda!" the soldiers shouted, raising their spears into the air.

"Long live Queen Zelda!" the crowd echoed, and soon everyone was bowing before their new monarch. Zelda tried to finish her speech, but Impa made it clear there was no way she was going to break through the revelry.

"Face it, _Shazadi_ , you're their Queen now. Heh, shall I start calling you _Malika_ instead?"

Zelda sent a nasty glare Impa's way, causing her to laugh. "Okay, I'll keep things the same. But if you'll excuse me, I'd best show our 'guest' to his holding cell until we can make the journey to the Shadow Temple," Impa said, leaving to guide Ganondorf and Aveil to the secure dungeon.

"Your Majesty, if you please," Anju interrupted as Impa took her leave, "I think the people would like to be introduced to their new little princess, and her noble guardian." Anju motioned to the little ones in the crowd, who kept standing on their toes or climbing atop their parents' shoulders to get a better glimpse of Baby and Link.

"...Oh, I guess it won't harm anything," Zelda said with a smile, and smoothed out Baby's hair. "Everyone... I would like you to meet my daughter, Princess Baby Hylia Dragmire, and her companion, Link of Ordon, descendant of the Hero of Time."

More cheers broke out, as well as several prayers for Princess Hylia's prosperity. Zelda was pleasantly surprised- she expected people to dislike Baby's middle name, but instead the populace was embracing it. She decided to take Baby and Link closer to the crowd and let them meet some of the town children, much like Impa did with her when she was a little girl. Baby was shy at first, but Link held her hand and acted as her eyes. Soon she was happily chatting away with Link at her side.

"Your grandchildren will be so lovely," an old granny said to Zelda, patting her on the shoulder.

Zelda's face turned bright red, and she was grateful Ganondorf wasn't around to hear such a remark. "Th-thank you, but we're quite a long way off from that... They're only six after all..."

"Heh, time flows faster than you think, young lady. I remember when your mother presented you to the people," the granny said. "It is so good to see you on the throne where you belong, instead of that corrupt monster. Your grandfather was a good king, and I know you will be a good queen. Will you make your husband king?"

"...It was my intention to, yes," Zelda admitted. "My plan was to retire and focus on my children. Does that make me a poor queen?"

"Not at all!" the granny answered. "Children are our life. Your husband is already king of his own people, no? I remember, before him no one tried to make peace. Your husband had the courage to think of his people before himself. We can trust him, especially if he fights for you."

"Thank you for your confidence, truly." Zelda smiled, and looked over to the children who were still happily babbling away. She sat on the edge of the wall and accepted tidings from individual townsfolk, until Baby and Link came back with grumbling tummies. Scooping them up, Zelda bid adieu to the granny and the rest of the townsfolk, then retired to the castle for the first time in seven years.


	37. The Goddesses' Number

A cautious Ganondorf sat atop his steed at the edge of Eldin province, and looked down over the gorge separating it from neighboring Lanayru Province. The howling wind whipped fiercely past his head, warning him he was too close to the realm of shadow. He heeded its warning and kept back, though he was only waiting for someone to return.

After a few more moments Ganondorf felt the air shifting, and turned to see his companion withdrawing from the shadows. "Ah, there you are. I was beginning to think you enjoyed being down there a little too much."

"I have spent my fair share of time in the depths of the Shadow Temple," Impa replied with a smirk. "The year Iriana was taken away from me, I volunteered to perform the rites of appeasement in the inner sanctum. The fact that I came back out alive earned me the title of High Priest of the Sheikah."

Ganondorf nodded in approval, then hitched up his horse to leave. As he watched Impa mounting her ride, he noticed the faintest discoloration along her fingertips. Looking closer, he realized it was red. Blood red.

"Impa, were you injured?"

"No," she replied succinctly and sped off, leaving Ganondorf in confusion. As he sat there pondering, a horrible realization came to light. He left Impa alone with the man who took her love away, did nothing to stop the attempted murder of her daughter, and may as well have blinded her grandbaby himself.

"An eye for an eye," he said, departing with a shudder. Little did he know just how right he was.

* * *

Ganondorf strolled up the path to Hyrule Castle, and for the first time there were no guards or citizens staring at him in apprehension. There were still a few who regarded him curiously, but it was for an altogether different reason- he was the man who brought their princess back, and soon the two of them would become their king and queen.

He passed through the gate and into the courtyard, and headed up to the fountain where he could see someone in a lavender dress sitting on the edge while two children splashed around.

"Hey, no fair, it was my turn to splash you!"

When Ganondorf got closer, not only did he discover that Nabs was rooting around for food nearby (as she sniffed out the crackers in his pocket), but the lavender dress that Zelda was wearing was the very same one she wore on the day they first met.

Zelda smiled and gave Ganondorf her hands, as he knelt in front of her and took her lips. "Welcome back."

Ganondorf smiled, then inspected her attire. "Zelda, why on earth are you wearing that dress? It's a beautiful piece, but it's horribly stained..."

"This dress holds a lot of memories," she explained, holding up part of the skirt. "Impa wanted me to throw it out back then, but I said no way. You bled so much, it was saturated a deep red..." Zelda let out a little laugh. "I did rinse most of it out. Imagine the heart attack the maids would have had if they saw me at the sink, rinsing all this blood away. But I consider what's left part of the design, and I'm glad I have it back."

"I'm glad I have _you_ back," Ganondorf countered, and pulled Zelda into an embrace. Zelda giggled and returned his affections, until the two were suddenly hit by a splash of water.

"!!!"

Zelda and Ganondorf turned to find guilty looking Link, clearly victim of an accident, with Baby scolding him. "Link! You were sposta splash me! If you splash Papa, he'll never let you marry me when we grow up!"

At that moment, Link turned the deepest shade of red they had ever seen.

* * *

Once splash time was over and everyone was dried and put to bed, Zelda and Ganondorf sat up in the solar contemplating the new life that was ahead of them.

"How do you suppose we go from here?" Zelda asked, leaning on Ganondorf's arm. "Your people still need you as their king, but now the Hylians look to us as their new leaders."

"Mmm. I actually like the plan Impa suggested," Ganondorf replied as they sat in bed. "We can allow each tribe to select its own leader, much in the way it already does. Castle Town just needs a small government, which you and I will then head and the tribal leaders will report to. I will act as king and as the tribal leader for the Gerudo. You will be the queen, and you will be free to raise Baby and any other children we might have."

"That is a solid plan," Zelda admitted.

"...I can sense your apprehension, love." Ganondorf took Zelda's hands, then cupped her cheek. "What troubles you? If there is a part you don't like, I'll change it."

"It's not that I don't like the plan," Zelda admitted. "It's just that... Well, Baby really enjoyed living with the Gerudo. The way your plan sounds, we'd be living in Castle Town most of the time. And also, she might want to go back to the forest every now and then..."

"We can live the spring and summer in Castle Town, and the fall and winter in the Valley," he suggested. "And any time she wishes, we'll vacation in the forest. How does that sound?"

"That's reasonable... But what about Link?"

"What about him?"

Zelda pouted. "You know Baby won't allow herself to be separated from him."

"You don't need to remind me of that," Ganondorf grumbled. "I kind of figured he'd be staying."

"But won't Aveil be sad to part from him? He's practically her son."

"Aveil is strong," he replied. "She knows that he is well cared for with you, and that he is doing his duty by protecting Baby. She can stand to be parted from him for half the year."

"If you say so," Zelda mumbled. "I could never part from my baby for that long..."

Ganondorf hummed in agreement, and hugged Zelda tight. "Our baby will be seven years old soon, correct?"

"It's springtime now, so she'll be seven in the fall."

"Seven is the Goddesses' number," he murmured. "Seven years the hero slept, seven sages, seven years we were apart, and now the first birthday we share as a family will be her seventh."

"And I'm sure you would like seven little Dragmire siblings over the years to celebrate with her," Zelda mused, coaxing a grin out of Ganondorf.

"Impa would kill me."

"Oh nonsense, she can't wait for more grandchildren."

"...Then what are we waiting for?" he purred, rolling Zelda onto the bed and relishing in her giggles. "Your wish is my command, my queen."

Zelda smiled. "Then my first wish, oh king, is that you put out the lights and hold me."

And without delay, Ganondorf obeyed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> With this chapter, we have reached the end of the main story. :3
> 
> But do not fret, I intend to continue writing about this cute family. We will see Baby and Link grow up, their eventual romance (you know that's happening at some point), and did someone say siblings...? ;)


	38. The Twins

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And we have the first oneshot!
> 
> I actually wrote this a long time ago, before I added Link to the story. So if he seems shoehorned in, he was. :| The problem though is that Link doesn't really fit into this chapter too well... But I think this will do.

"Mama, Mama! Can I listen again, please? Pretty please?"

Zelda looked up from her reading to find Baby and Link at the foot of her bed, Link with a bashful smile on his face but otherwise calm as he motioned to the ecstatic and energetic Baby. The new Queen of Hyrule smiled in return, and sat down her book. "Oh, alright. Just be careful not to push too hard..."

"I'll be careful!" With that Baby crawled onto her mother's bed, and leaned her ear against Zelda's stomach. "...OH! One of them just kicked me!"

"They're really anxious to come out, just like you were, Pumpkin." Zelda ran her fingers through Baby's hair, as her soon-to-be-eldest continued listening to the babies kicking away in her stomach. Zelda was thrilled when she and Ganondorf conceived a second time, but was thrown for a loop when they discovered it was twins. At least this time, she wasn't going to be alone for the delivery. The family was currently spending the winter in Gerudo Valley, and with the babies due any day now, everyone was prepared.

"Hey, the girls at the birthing pool say they're ready," an excited Ganondorf announced as he barged into the room, nearly crushing Link in the process. "Give me the word, and I'll take you down there."

"You will NOT," Impa interjected, setting a warm wash basin beside the bed. "That type of delivery is highly unsanitary and far too risky for a multiple birth. When the time comes, we will deliver the girls as we delivered Baby."

Ganondorf growled and crossed his arms. "We are talking about my people's traditional way of birth! How could it be so 'unsanitary' if the practice has lasted thousands of years?!"

Impa shot right back, "We are talking about _my grandchildren_! This is not up for debate!"

"Uh... Papa, Nanny?"

"In a minute, Pumpkin," Ganondorf said to Baby. "What do you mean 'your grandchildren'? You always throw a fit whenever I refer to you as my mother! Never mind the fact that to call another woman your mother is one of the highest honors a Gerudo can give, and you continually spurn my attempt at affection!"

"Nanny!" Baby tried again, a sense of urgency in her voice, as Link tugged on Impa's sleeve.

"In a second, my little one," Impa said as she continued to stare down her opponent. "Affection?! You only called me that to try and earn my favor, there was no respect in your tone. Why in fact I-"

" **QUIET!!!!** "

Baby's shout made the quarrelers turn toward the bed, and they gasped in tandem at what they saw. Link was running around the bed, gathering all the medical supplies and clean towels or blankets he could carry. A frowning Baby was dabbing a wet cloth from the basin against the forehead of a very angry and very shaky Zelda, who was surrounded by soaked sheets. Zelda was livid, and screamed, "The two of you, **out of the room, _NOW!!!_** "

"But _Shahzadi_ , your water...!"

"Zelda my love, we have to stay! The children are coming!"

"And they're going to come WITHOUT YOU IN THE ROOM! SHOO! LEAVE! **_AVEILLLLL!_** "

Aveil rushed into the room after hearing screaming, and was surprised to see her king and the Sheikah white faced, and her son and princess trying their best at comforting a red faced queen. "What happened? Is it time?"

"General Aveil, please escort his majesty and the lady from the room. They may return when they learn to STOP IGNORING MY BABY!" Zelda huffed, drawing Baby in for an embrace.

"Yeah!" Baby added for emphasis.

Aveil stood still, unsure how to proceed without angering either of her monarchs. Ganondorf patted Aveil's shoulder in understanding, then swiftly yanked Baby from the brooding Zelda's arms.

"HEY! PAPA! LET GO!"

"GAN, YOU GIVE HER BACK TO ME RIGHT NOW!"

Dodging several furious swats from the hyper little girl and heated curses from the angry big girl, Ganondorf stepped back and gave Impa a nod. "General, if you would..."

"Aye," Impa answered, and pulled away the soiled sheets. "Shahzadi, calm down. You're just a little upset on account of the birth. Now I know you're feeling some contractions by now-"

"IF YOU HAD LISTENED TO BABY AND LINK YOU'D KNOW THAT!"

Impa reeled from the shout in her ear. "Yes, my dear, and I'm sorry I didn't. Aveil and I will help you, just tell us how you want to proceed. Here in bed, or at the birthing pool?"

Zelda calmed down a little, and gave Ganondorf a sad glance. "I... I know it means a lot to you, but the water... and strangers..."

"The only thing that means a lot to me is your happiness," he answered, smiling despite Baby's continued (and painful) squirming. "Aveil! Fetch the medicines and blankets, the four of us have twins to deliver!"

"Six, Papa, there are six of us! Link and I are gonna help too!"

* * *

Zelda and Ganondorf sat side by side on the bed, looking down at the two newest additions to their family. Baby crawled up into her father's lap, and held her finger out for one of the newborns to hold. "Did you think up any names, Mama?"

"I have a few," she answered, rocking the twins in her arms. The girls had the same olive complexion and pointed ears as their older sister, with their father's nose and their mother's cheeks. The only difference in the two was their hair color- the elder of the two had golden hair, while the younger had strawberry blonde. Zelda rubbed the little curl of the blonde, and smiled. "I really like Tetra..."

"Tetra is a fine name," Ganondorf said. "What about the other one? Anything in mind?"

"They're your daughters too," Zelda chuckled.

"...Then how about Iriana?"

"My... my mother's name?" Zelda was pleasantly surprised.

"But of course," Ganondorf answered with a smile. "I'm very thankful to her for bringing such a wonderful girl into the world, and it's a shame I never got to meet her."

"I like it," Baby mumbled. "Hello Tetra. Hello Iriana."

The babies cooed in response, and the happy family snuggled together.


End file.
